Thousands of Ladybugs Swarm Downtown Oklahoma City

Some children were bugging out Thursday at the Myriad Botanical Gardens.

Thursday, April 15th 2010, 9:15 pm

By: News 9


By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Some children were bugging out Thursday at the Myriad Botanical Gardens.

The children released tens of thousands of bugs in Downtown Oklahoma City, and all for the benefit of the city.

The Crystal Bridge is known as a sanctuary of shrubs, but children at the Myriad Botanical Gardens learned it's also an important ecosystem of insects.

About 70,000 ladybugs were let go by children from all over the metro, and the annual activity was used as a learning opportunity.

"Bugs have a bad rap. Let's face it. They're creepy, they're crawly, and a lot of people think that they're very harmful, but in this case this is a way of teaching children not only that not all bugs are bad, but also teaches them really about the natural world," said Jennifer McClintock, Oklahoma City Parks Department.

The conservatory's pest management program looks for non-chemical solutions to aid plant growth, and as it turns out, ladybugs eat other tiny insects like aphids that are known to destroy plants.

"Every time we move somewhere, if there's a unique event, I always try to do it with her, and no where we've lived has had a bug out where you let out ladybugs. So we're squeezing this in before preschool today," said Jennifer Bosko, who released ladybugs with her daughter, Evy, on Thursday.

"Bug Out" is one of the last opportunities to visit the Crystal Bridge before it closes for a year-long renovation project beginning April 26.

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