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- These are easily spotted on Cowbar from April onwards, when they come out of hibernation from cracks and crevices and leaf litter.
- The name ‘ladybird’ could come from a legend that in the Middle Ages, pests were destroying the crops. Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary and the ladybirds arrived to eat the pests and save the harvest. They were called ‘The beetles of Our Lady’ or lady beetles.
- They are also known as ladybugs but etymologists prefer to be more accurate and call them lady beetles.
- Beetles (including ladybirds) belong to the Coleoptera order of insects which eat a wide range of plant and animal matter. This means they have mouthparts designed for chewing.
- Bugs are of the Hemiptera order and are mostly plant feeders with needle like mouthparts for a mostly liquid diet.
- There are more than 40 species of ladybird in the UK (about 5,000 in the whole world).
- The adults and larvae feed on aphids and small insects. They can be excellent pest controls in a garden.
- Their bright red wing cases (elytra) warn predators that they have a bitter taste.
- Despite this, they are eaten by birds, frogs, wasps and spiders.
- The famous nursery rhyme: “Ladybird, ladybird fly away home / Your house is on fire your children are gone” could date from Medieval times when fields of hop vines were burned after harvest. The adult ladybirds flew away, but the pupae fastened to the vines would burn.
- Many countries have legends about ladybirds bringing good luck or foretelling a marriage. In Celtic mythology, the three spots on each wing case of the 7-spot ladybird represent the past, the present and the future.
