Every gardener knows that lady bugs are friends of the garden.  Even children love ladybugs and aren’t afraid of them like they are of other bugs.  One of the stories of how they came to be called ladybugs is from a time in Europe during the mddle ages, crops were being eaten by insects so badly that people were beginning to starve.  Farmers prayed to Virgin Mary for help, but then more insects arrived which worried the farmers.  To their surprise the new red beetles with black spots ate all the bad bugs that were ruining the crops, so the beetles became known as the “beetles of Our Lady” which was later shortened to ladybug.

• Fun things you may not know about those little beetles we call ladybugs

•   Ladybugs are commonly known to be red with black spots, but they can also be found as orange with black spots or black with red spots

• The color, pattern of markings, and the number of spots on a ladybug will help you identify what type of ladybug it is

• A ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies

• If you squeeze a ladybug it will bite you, but the bite won’t hurt

• The spots on a ladybug fade as the ladybug gets older

• There are over 5000 different kinds of ladybugs

• Ladybugs chew from side to side

• Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so predators won’t eat them

• It only takes the larvae, or baby ladybug, about one week to grow into an adult

• Ladybugs eat aphids

• Ladybugs hibernate for the winter

• The size of male ladybug is smaller than the female.

~Never hurt a ladybug
We need them in the garden
Ladybugs help flowers grow
So we must give them pardon!~Author unknown

~Lovely little ladybug
sent from heaven above
please watch over my garden
and fill it up with love.~Author Unknown

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