I need to make ladybug food

I got free ladybugs with an order! COOL!
BUT!
It's too early to just let them out with no further help, there are few green plants (mostly garlic and other alliums, a bit of grass) and few bugs out yet (and it's going down cold the next few nights again.)

I have them snoozing in the fridge, I plan to let them out when that current blast of cold is past, (or should I put them in a ladybug place in the house for longer?) but either way, they need to be fed when I release them or put them in a place they can be awake in. The site says don't keep them in the fridge more than 10 days.

I looked up recipes for ladybug nectar online. Ugh. White sugar. I don't think ANYONE needs white sugar. Some called for whey, yeast, raisins, or honey. I have no whey. I have some good raw honey. I have raisins. I have nutritional yeast with no dyes in it, and bread baking yeast. For some reason I'm also thinking I have some organic masa (nixtamalized cornflour) that a small amount might add some body to it and complex carbohydrates.

So if I put together in clean water  
Raisins
Raw honey
Nutritional yeast
Organic masa
and made a syrupy paste out of it, would it make ladybugs happy?

Advice appreciated!!
:D

Lady beetles in the wild simply hibernate through the winter so I guess maybe you can keep them for quite some time in the fridge.
I don't know anything about the feed. If I want some aphids quickly, I will just fertilize a tomato with excess nitrogen and the aphids will appear out of nowhere and multiple asexually.

Did you find this site? https://ladybugplanet.com/what-do-ladybugs-eat-in-the-wild-or-in-homes-a-helpful-guide/
I'm assuming they sent you aphid-eating ladybugs, so I'd want you to pay attention to the protein content of what you feed them. However, it mentions pollen - so that pollen base bee stuff (propolis maybe?) might be worth adding for protein, but maybe the nutritional yeast covers that?

Good luck!  

Some observations from my life experience and my greenhouse made with salvaged material that has lots of places for insect hibernation.  Ants will sometimes overwinter aphids on roots underground.   Aphids appear on plants that come up from the seed bank in the soil but are weak because of soil temperature.  The fluctuating temperatures also bring out predictors to feed on them so I am tolerant of such appearances.

Thank you all for replies :)
I think I'm going to make up some of what I listed, and I have bee pollen, will add that too, good idea!
I'll make them a good hibernating place in the garden, and put the food in there with them. I'll net it for a couple of days so they get the idea this is a good place to stay when it's cold, then un-net it and let them do what they want on warm days. I'm hoping if they pheromone up the warm spot, and it has food, they'll go back in when it's cold. Hoping to keep them in the area.

It's too early for this.... but they don't want to live in the fridge either.

Ladybird beetles will naturally feed on pollen when aphids are not available or in short supply. However, survival on pollen alone isn't great (study comparing aphid diet to pollen diet). Successful artificial diets generally involve insect protein of some kind (e.g. Table 1 in this study). But it looks like you could buy time with a bee pollen & honey mix, but probably not more than a month.

Oh my lord, what the HELL was I thinking??!
I've been too sick to make the ladybugs an outside place, and it snowed a dusting last night, too cold to just toss them outside.
So.
I figured I'd feed and water them, and put them back to bed.
BAD PLAN.
I took a plastic ice cream tub, cut most of the top out leaving a rim to hold on tight, found some thin fabric to cover them with. I wanted to see in, see what they ate.
I put little piles in there of wet cotton balls, drizzle of good honey, bee pollen, nutritive yeast, masa paste, shredded canned chicken. Figured I'd offer them all I could think of, see what they like.
Got them out of the fridge, opened their bag, started dumping them in the container...
And all hell broke loose. Or at least all ladybugs did....
WHEE! AWAKE!! WE DANCE!!
I was trying to get the ones whose little claws were in the mesh of their bag out, the others started crawling up the sides, I pushed them back down. Come on, get out of the bag! Hey, you, no, back in!! Not on the countertop!
Finally got them in. Put the sheer cloth over them. closed it. Whew. I am sick and I haven't had breakfast yet. This was exhausting!
Peek through the cloth, Hi ladybugs!! Oh, hey, you are stuck in the honey, oh no!
And this was when I made a MAJOR tactical error.... I opened it up to rescue the ones in the honey, was going to cover up the honey...
WHEE! AWAKE!! WE GO OUT!!
Oh.... my....   ...... ladybugs.
A bunch had their little claws stuck in the cloth, so I couldn't get them to let go. I started trying to knock them back in.
WE GO UP!!!
No, not up, in the bucket!
WHEE!!
I grabbed a chunk of parchment paper, put it over the bin, lidded it on tight.
Got a 13x9 cake pan, started knocking them off the cloth into the cake pan.
Oh, this is EASY to climb out of! WE RUN ON THE COUNTERTOP!! No!! back in the pan! What? Over the edge? On the floor? WE RUN ON THE FLOOR!!
Drummed on the top of the bin, tapped it to make them all fall down, Opened it to pour the ones in the pan back in.
Oh hey! The lid is off! WE GO UP!! Noooooooooo!!!
It took me probably a half hour of non-stop very fast hands to get them all back in the bin. Every time I had enough to dump I had to keep them in while I added more. Every time I set down that cloth, they ran onto the counter...

So.
I don't have room in the fridge for the bin. I put in out in the cold garage. Go back to SLEEP!!
I got my ass kicked.
I WILL say though that Ladybugs from Nature's Good Guys are DEFINITELY viable!! Worth the money if it's warm enough outside to let them go. Be careful of getting them early, even free...

And if you think they might be hungry, slap some sense into yourself!!!
:D

I just sloshed coffee on myself from laughing too hard.
I can visualize you , stuck with your hands full, ladybugs running amok through the kitchen.

WHEEEEE!! WE GO!

And promptly get stuck in the honey. Or in danger of squishing.

It is a great recommendation for Very Lively Ladybugs. you are correct.
Thank you so much for the laugh!

WHEEEEE!!

...and human's think they should have mastery over all the things that crawl the earth??? I think the Ladybugs would take offense to such nonsense!

Jay Angler wrote:...and humans think they should have mastery over all the things that crawl the earth??? I think the Ladybugs would take offense to such nonsense!

I think we don't have enough hands to master them! I know I didn't.  :D

Every winter, despite all efforts in the fall, at some point we move a jacket hanging on a hook or slide a stack of clothes off a shelf and two hundred ladybugs fall out and WHEE! AWAKE!! WE DANCE!! is exactly right. Forget "herding cats" 🙄

I made a ladybug house to put them in and transfer them to the woodshed where the good little ladybugs overwinter. Ive never managed to get them all in the damn house, though.

Luckily we have a huge hoya that blooms constantly, and they seem to like the nectar.

In the wild, I've seen mass quantities of adult ladybugs chowing down on apples (well, now I know what's making the scooped-out pits in some of my apples). So I'd just give them an apple cut in half and let them go to it.

I let them go today!
WE DANCE!!
WE CLIMB!? Hey, no more up, to climb....
WE FLY!!!
YAY! Do well ladybugs!!

RezZircon: Yeah, I am going to put things like that out in the garden for them, in case they find them. I have the first early spring HenBit blooming, so there's probably nectar. I'll give them snacks.

I also put out the nematodes I had actually ordered from that place, I hope they eat all kinds of annoying things.
:D

Yay, predator bugs!

@Pearl Sutton, you are a hilarious story teller!  Thank you for a really entertaining read.  I get no joy from your struggle, but a ton of joy from your humor about your experience!  Very funny indeed.  I've learned a lot from this thread.  Thank you all for contributing!

John McLellan wrote:@Pearl Sutton, you are a hilarious story teller!  Thank you for a really entertaining read.  I get no joy from your struggle, but a ton of joy from your humor about your experience!  Very funny indeed.  I've learned a lot from this thread.  Thank you all for contributing!

Thank you, I was giggling as I typed it! I have fun coming up with silliness. Keeps me from screaming at stress.
Glad you were amused!  

I just got email from the place I got ladybugs from Nature's Good Guys and their splash screen says they are giving away ladybugs with most orders (some restrictions.) They are DEFINITELY viable!!
If you need some, worth checking there. Don't know how long they'll be doing that promo.
:D

Pearl Sutton wrote:I just got email from the place I got ladybugs from Nature's Good Guys and their splash screen says they are giving away ladybugs with most orders (some restrictions.) They are DEFINITELY viable!!
If you need some, worth checking there. Don't know how long they'll be doing that promo.
:D

They also sell nematodes that target flies, fleas, ticks, & roaches!! Come payday, John is putting in our orders! Thank you, Pearl!!!

That's great news! Nematodes for nasty bugs? I'm so there! I have their website in my To Be Read tab ....

Update on the ladybugs...  
After I let them go I didn't see them for a while.
Oooh.... We hide...

Today I see them all over!
YAY! We dance! We eat!!
YAY! We fornicate!

Do it ladybugs!!
:D

It's not often you see any internet post encouraging public fornication.
Without context, it might be a troubling thought.
As it's ladybugs, I agree. It's like spring peepers and spiders - anything that eats Bad Bugs is highly encouraged to make more of itself.

Well, if you're looking to make some ladybug food with bee pollen, you're on the right track! Ladybugs are beneficial insects that can help control pests in your garden, and bee pollen is a great source of protein and nutrients for them. To make this special treat for your ladybug friends, simply mix together some bee pollen with a little bit of water to form a paste. You can then place small portions of this mixture near where the ladybugs frequent in your garden. They'll be sure to enjoy this nutritious snack and keep coming back to help keep your plants healthy. Just remember to use organic bee pollen to ensure the safety and health of our pollinator friends!