Ladybug Around The Globe

Female Ladybugs produce clusters of 20-50 yellowish orange oval-shaped eggs in the early spring -- you can usually find them stuck to the undersides of leaves. The average female will lay anywhere from 300 to 1000 eggs during her lifetime. The eggs hatch primarily in March and April, depending on the temperature.

Ladybug Larvae are actually larger than their parents, and they look very much like miniature blue-black alligators! In fact, some well-meaning gardeners will actually exterminate them because they don't recognize them as Ladybug offspring. The Larvae are ravenous and immediately begin gorging on aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, and other soft-bodied pests. One Larvae can consume as many as 400 aphids during the 3-week period before it enters the Pupae stage and turns into an adult.

Ladybugs are a bit clumsy, though efficient enough, fliers. Their transparent sheath-wings (hidden from view under the outer wing cases, until they take to the air) flutter at a rate of 85 beats per second. Their bright colors serve as a warning sign to birds and other potential predators that they DON'T TASTE GOOD. If attacked by a predator, Ladybugs ooze a yellow, foul-smelling liquid (actually their blood) from their leg joints, which is usually all it takes to convince their attacker not to continue snacking on them!

Finally, after consuming aphids all summer-long, the air starts to turn brisk, and the Ladybugs begin to seek shelter for the winter. They cluster together by the thousands (for warmth, it's presumed) under dead leaves, inside hollow logs, and even high up in the eaves of our houses. For still unknown reasons, they tend to prefer light-colored structures with a prominent southern exposure. There they will remain - in hibernation - until the warmer temperatures return, indicating that Spring has come and the aphid population has been replenished. The Ladybugs will then devote themselves to several days of eating and frenzied mating, the females sometimes feeding and breeding at the same time! The beautiful, brightly-colored beetles will die soon thereafter......but before they do, new clusters of yellow-orange eggs will be laid and the Life cycle begins anew, much to the delight of farmers and Ladybug Lovers everywhere!

HOW THE LADYBUG GOT ITS NAME

Legends vary about how the Ladybug came to be named, but the most common (and enduring) is this: In Europe, during the Middle Ages, swarms of insects were destroying the crops. The farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon thereafter the Ladybugs came, devouring the plant-destroying pests and saving the crops! The farmers called these beautiful insects "The Beetles of Our Lady", and - over time - they eventually became popularly known as "Lady Beetles". The red wings were said to represent the Virgin's cloak and the black spots were symbolic of both her joys and her sorrows.

"LADYBUG" IN OTHER LANGUAGES

"Glückskäfer" -- Austria
"Slunécko" - Czechoslovakia
"Mariehøne" -- Denmark
"LadyBird" -- England
"Leppäkerttu" -- Finland
"Coccinelle" -- France
"Marienkafer" -- Germany
"Paskalitsa" -- Greece
"Parat Moshe Rabenu" -- Hebrew
"Lieveheersbeestje" -- Holland
"Katicabogár" -- Hungary
"Coccinella" -- Italy
"Tentou Mushi" -- Japan
"Da'asouqah" -- Jordan
"Mudangbule" -- Korea
"Mara" -- Latvia
"Kumbang" -- Malaysia
"Biedronka" -- Poland
"Joaninha" -- Portugal
"Buburuzã" -- Romania
"Bosya Kopovka" -- Russia
"Pikapolonica" -- Slovania
"Mariquita" -- Spain
"Nykelpiga" -- Sweden
"Ugurböcegi" -- Turkey
"Ladybug" -- United States
"Ilsikazana Esincane" -- Zulu