Tuesday 26 January 2021

The Ladybird or Ladybug Coccinellidae

Historically and cross-culturally, ladybirds or ladybugs are believed to be a talisman of good luck. Some believe that if a ladybug lands on you, you should count the number of spots to predict how many years of good luck you will have, and many think that the spots indicate the number of months until your greatest wish comes true. As a child, my parents told me that the ladybug was lucky, and as a child I believed them. Whatever you may believe, they do play an important role in the environment, and are "charming" little creatures.


These charming little red and black creatures, are not bugs at all, but beetles, and are harmless to humans. The seven spot is the most common. It has 3 spots on each side of it's body, and 1 behind it's head. Their spots serve as a warning to predators.



Ladybugs can eat as many as 75 aphids per day, and up to 5000 insects in it's lifetime. As you can see in this photo, they can have a veritable feast on this branch. 


They have small black feet and black antennae, and they smell from both antennae and feet.Their wings are hidden behind the hard dome shaped body.


Their spots and bright colour is not the only warning devise the ladybird has.  They emit foul-smelling blood from their leg joints, and when they are startled, the yellow liquid is ejected out, and is toxic to it's predators.

Like the lacewing, and many other insects, they are the farmers and gardeners friend, for their preferred diet is plant damaging insects, and they also love pollen, and pollinate as the fly from flower to flower.

Last year I saw many 7 spot ladybirds, but there are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs in the world, and many are known by the number of their spots.


Children love ladybugs, and there is a popular children's nursery rhyme, written in the 17th century called "Ladybird Ladybird", No-one really knows who wrote it,but it goes like this.

                            Ladybird, ladybird fly away home, 
                            Your house is on fire, and your children are gone, 
                            All except one, and her name is Ann, 
                            And she is hiding under the warming pan.

25 comments:

MadSnapper said...

This is a super duper post and I love love love it! Every single photo of this precious little bug is gorgeous and I'm so glad you got your camera back because you still have your gift for photography! I can say that every single photo is awesome and should be my favorite but the one that appeals to me the most today is that one that's hanging upside down off the flower. It makes me feel happy to look at it

Ela said...

I love ladybugs! They are so beautiful and very useful because they eat aphids!
You showed a beautiful series of photos!
Greetings

La Biosfera de Lola said...

Hola amiga, espero te encuentres bien. Me encantan las mariquitas y en el jardín son de gran ayuda, sobre todo sus larvas .Preciosas fotos. Besos.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

They are indeed fascinating little creatures, and I am quite sure that most people find them attractive. Alien species are proliferating, however, as they are transported in shipments of fruit etc. I wonder if at some point different species will start to hybridize?

Lowcarb team member said...

I did enjoy reading and looking at your post today.
Fabulous photographs, and so nice to read your additional information.

I've always had a soft spot for ladybirds.

You may be interested in this post ...

Have you seen a lady bird bug salad?

https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/2019/04/have-you-seen-lady-bird-bug-caprese.html

I hope you enjoy the coming week, do please take care.

All the best Jan

DeniseinVA said...

Lovely post and so very interesting :) Your photos are fantastic!

Marijke said...

Good morning dear Sonijia
What a breathtaking photo's of the Ladybug. The Ladybug is in Holland the mark to people to be kind to eachother. I love to see them eat the lice in my roses. And last week I saw the first one of 2021 in my little garden.
Have a wonderful day
Rosehugs Marijke

Nancy Chan said...

I love ladybirds and they are friends to my garden. Nice shots of the ladybirds. Have a great week.

Debbie said...

they are so sweet and we have a lot of them here at my house. interesting information, most i did not know. such a cute verse, i have never heard it before!!

Teresa said...

Me encanta ver las mariquitas en mi jardín, pero últimamente se ven muy pocas. Besos.

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Lovely pictures 😍...

sami niilola said...

The ladybug is so sweet. Thanks for the great photos.

Mike Attwood said...

Hello Sonjia,
To me that is a very healthy environment to have small creatures like the ladybirds in it. They get well looked after in my garden. Lovely pictures. Stay safe.
Mike.

Jeevan said...

Interesting to know such (spots with good luck) beliefs exist and amazing to note there are 5000 in a variety! There's a species found in our place called seven spotted cockroaches, which have a similar spot on its back as a ladybug.
Loved your shots!

Ida said...

Wonderful pictures of the ladybugs. I love seeing them.

Nick Morgan said...

I love seeing ladybirds. They cheer me up particularly in the early spring and I think they indicate a healthy ecosystem. I love your pictures, particularly the one hanging on the grass.

Ranten said...

Love your pictures!

Ella said...

Ladybugs ... they are fascinating little bugs! Beautiful pictures!
You ask me how can that in the peanut butter jar there are no ants? It is winter and the ants are underground, it is too cold outside for them!

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful the Ladybird, so close. Love the the poem.

Bill said...

Love your ladybug photos, they are absolutely beautiful.

Irma said...

These are beautiful pictures of the ladybugs.
I enjoyed your photos.
I wish you a nice Sunday.
Greetings Irma

A Casa Madeira said...

The images were beautiful!
Very good to see up close;
Good entry for February.

Germán Ibarra Zorrilla said...

Unas fotos extraordinarias, me ha gustado mucho tu trabajo. Tienes un nuevo seguidor desde el norte de España. Saludos desde http://faunacompacta.blogspot.com/

Richard Pegler said...

This is a wonderful post on the ladybirds, Sonjia. I remember, maybe 45 years ago, there was a very dry summer and a huge number of ladybirds - and they started biting humans! I had several bites from them at various times when working in the garden and it was quite a sharp nip they gave!

Best wishes - take great care - - - Richard

Marit said...

Beautiful photos of the ladybug!

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