Ladybird

Ladybirds (Commonwealth English), also known as ladybugs (American English, Canadian English) or lady beetles (some scientists favor this) are a family, Coccinellidae ("little sphere"), of beetles. Ladybirds are found worldwide, with over 4,500 species described, more than 450 native to North America alone. Ladybirds are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm, and are usually yellow, orange, or red with small black spots on their carapace, and black legs, head and feelers. As the family name suggests, they are usually quite round in shape.

Ladybirds are beneficial to organic gardeners because most species are insectivores, consuming aphids, fruit flies, thrips, and other tiny plant-sucking insects that damage crops. In fact, their name is derived from "Beetle of Our Lady", recognizing their role in saving crops from destruction. Today they are commercially available from a variety of suppliers.

Adult ladybirds are able to reflex-bleed from their leg joints. The blood is yellow, with a strong repellent smell, and is quite obvious when one handles a ladybird roughly.

The ladybird is immortalised in the children's nursery rhyme:

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

Your house is on fire and your children are gone

All except one, and that's Little Anne

For she has crept under the warming pan.

Notable species: (note, not all individuals show the number of spots suggested by their names)

• Seven-spotted lady beetle (Coccinella septempunctata)
• Two-spotted lady beetle (Adalia bipunctata)
• Convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens)
• Spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata)
• Twice-stabbed lady beetle (Chilocurus stigma)
• Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis Mulsant)
• Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

References

• I. Hodek & A. Honek, Ecology of Coccinellidae (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1996)

• http://home.ptd.net/~insect/ladybug.html
• http://www.geobop.com/Symbols/Animals/Insects/1/Ladybugs/
• http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/ladybintro.html
• The Lady Beetle
• Taxonomy of Coccinelids

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