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Ladybird, Ladybird,
Flyaway home,
Your house is on fire,
Your children will burn.
Nursery rhyme
Here in Australia we call these Ladybirds, other parts of the world
know them as Ladybug or Lady Beetles.
I am sure we all have memories of letting them crawl on our hands
to bring us good luck, they are a great fascination to all children,
some .. like me .. have never outgrown them :-)
 A ladybird is like a kind of beetle with wings.
A ladybird can see in different directions, all at once.
A ladybird uses both of it's antennae to feel, smell & taste.
A ladybird has hexagon shaped eyes with a lens in each facet.
A ladybird's mouth is tiny and their jaws are used to catch aphids.
Ladybirds mate in spring & the summer, after she lays her eggs.
It takes her two days to lay them all & she can lay up to 125 eggs.
Before winter the old ladybirds die, the young ladybirds hibernate until spring.
How the Ladybird got its name!
During the Middle Ages, swarms of pests were destroying crops,
so farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary, the mother of
Jesus, for help.
Soon after, ladybirds came and ate the pests and saved the crops.
The farmers called them "Beetles of Our Lady" and they eventually became known as "ladybirds".
Good Luck!
In many countries, ladybirds are considered to be good luck.
Like the four-leaf clover & horseshoe, the ladybird is thought to bring good luck.
To farmers especially, ladybirds are definitely good luck!
Beliefs!
The very sight of a ladybird is believed to be lucky; to kill
one brings inevitable misfortune.
Place a ladybird on the hand while making a wish, the direction
it flies away indicates where the luck will
come from.
If a ladybird lands on a person, whatever ailment the person has will fly away with the ladybird.
If the spots on the wing-cover of the ladybird exceed seven, it's a sign of famine, if less than seven,
it means good harvest.
In Central Europe, people believed that if a girl caught a
ladybird & it crawled across her hand, she would be
married within a year.
If a "Ladybird" is a female,
do they have another name for the male?
Yes ~~~~~ No
Visit Origin of the Nursery Rhyme
Ladybirds in Space !! Very interesting
Return to God's creatures Index
Enchanted Forest Glade
Created by L. Seymour ~ February 2001
Updated - 2004
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