Ladybugs are beetles. They are small oval-shaped insects with wings. Sometimes they are called ladybirds or lady beetles. What is a ladybug?

Have you ever wondered how the ladybug got its name? There is a legend that 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, ladybugs came and ate the bad pests and saved the crops. The farmers called these bugs, "Beetles of Our Lady" and they eventually became known as "ladybugs”. In many countries, ladybugs are considered to be good luck. Legend of the Ladybug’s Name Say it in Spanish - Mariquita

Say it in Spanish - Mariquita “Little Mary” Legend of the Ladybug’s Name

Ladybugs are usually red, but can be black, yellow or orange. Their spots can be any of those colors, or they can have no spots at all. Not just red and black

The number of spots identifies the type of ladybug, there are more than 5,000 different types of ladybugs worldwide. Click here to see more ladybugs Spots, spots, spots…

What do ladybugs eat? Most people love to have ladybugs in their gardens. Ladybugs eat aphids, mealybugs, and mites, which eat the plants in your garden. You can usually find these pests underneath leaves.

What’s for dinner? Aphids A mealybug

Ladybug larvae can eat about 25 aphids a day, adults can eat over 50!

Some people will put ladybug houses in their yards or buy ladybugs at a nursery. Why would anyone do that?

Ladybug Anatomy

Lifecycle of the Ladybug

In the beginning… The eggs hatch in 3-7 days

Larval Stage When the eggs hatch, the larvae go searching for food.

Larval Stage The larvae sheds it skin several times as it grows.

Ladybug larvae Wednesday, March 27, 2002, Mrs. Rodini 1D The dark specks are aphids or mites for the larvae to eat This is a ladybug in the larvae stage

Pupae Eventually, the larval skin splits down the back and we see the pupa. The pupa stage lasts about a week.

What is metamorphosis? After metamorphosis is complete, we see the adult ladybug. Metamorphosis means to have a dramatic change in the way something looks.

I’m all grown-up! Adult ladybugs

Did you know? Ladybugs’ spots fade as they get older. Most ladybugs are 1/4 of an inch long. If a ladybug feels threatened, it will play dead. Click here for more facts about ladybugs.

References S. Seagraves, Ladybugs. 25 March Wild Birds Foreever, Ladybug Habitation Boxes. 8 April 2002 Author unnamed, Ladybugs ladybugs. 27 March Country Road Graphics, Ladybug Set. 8 April Enchanted Learning Software, Ladybug. 25 March content/uploads/2007/04/real%20lady%20bugs.jpg

Armstrong Brothers Capital Nursery and Peter Stasser of SK Design, In the Garden: Our Online Newsletter. 8 April 2002 C. Fooshee, Mid-Florida Research and Education Center. 8 April Author unknown, Ladybugs. 8 April gs.html#How the Ladybug got its name gs.html#How the Ladybug got its name University of Alberta, Aphid Parallel Game-Tree Search Library. 8 April References

Some pictures of ladybugs were taken by teachers of Serra Catholic School using the Intel Play QX3 Computer Microscope in March and April g %2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dla dybugs%2B%252Bfarmers%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26ei%3Dutf- 8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=100&h=100&imgurl= quest.com%2Findeximages%2Flbugwithaphid.jpg&rurl=http%3A %2F%2Fwww.growquest.com%2Ffree_ladybugs.htm&size=7.6k B&name=lbugwithaphid.jpg&p=ladybugs%20+farmers&type=JP G&oid=035e20dbabead3ec&no=6&tt=15 References

This presentation was created by the Technology Staff of Serra Catholic School 2002, edited April 2008