LADYBUG WRANGLIN'

If you are ever in need of a surplus of ladybugs, give the fine folks at GardeningZone.comLiveLadybugsgallon72,000_approx..html) a call. I know this because I recently ordered 200,000 of these repugnant coccinellids so that Ed Zipco could take pictures of ginger models coated in swarms of them.

Packaging is the first thing you should be prepared for when mail-ordering a very large quantity of insects. Most ladybug wholesalers will ship you a stack of small pallets, with cloth sacks of bugs stuffed in between and stapled to each slat. If you're not planning to let the li'l guys loose right away, clear out a refrigerator and keep the container in there. It'll chill the them out and make them a bit easier to handle the next day.

Opening the sacks without prying apart each layer of wood is impossible, so the best thing to do is to trick someone else into doing it and laugh as thousands of crawling things escape and freak everyone out. This works especially well in an office setting. Have a cooler handy if you're planning to coat a person (a great prank to pull on a friend who sleeps too much) or persons in them. It helps to contain both the throng and the stench, which is a cross between napalm and what a room smells like 10 minutes after aliens have sex in it.

Anyway, I have to stop here because recalling their odor is literally making me nauseous. Take a peek at this thing we shot for VBS if you want a much more condensed version of what else we did with both sets of ladies.

ROCCO CASTORO