The Ladybug

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

Your house is on fire and your children are gone

All except one, and that's Little Anne

For she has crept under the warming pan.

Its doubtful if any insect is more popular than the Ladybug.

With a colourfull shell and a cute round shape, the little creature is a favorite of both adults and children. Especially fond of the Ladybug are farmers who enlist the wee beastie because of its taste for aphids.

An adult Ladybug can eat over 400 aphids a day making them an excellent alternative to pesticides.

Ladybugs can live up to two years. The female lays up to 300 eggs, depending on the species.

After about a week the eggs hatch into larvae that resemble little caterpillars. In about a month you have a new ladybug.

Despite the name, Ladybugs are not "bugs". They are in fact a type of beetle.

Their scientific name is Coccinellidae.

In some English speaking parts of the world, they are known as Ladybirds.

Aphids are not the Ladybugs' only meal. They also eat fruit flies and mites.

Ladybugs don't only come in red. Some are yellow or orange. Some have the familiar black dots on their shell, some don't. Ladybugs sport black legs, heads, and antennae.

Ladybugs' bright colour is meant to discourage predators. The tiny insect can ouze a foul tasting chemical many predators don't like. The bright colour is a reminder.

When the weather turns cold ladybugs hibernate. To conserve heat and survive cold weather, ladybugs gather in large groups, keeping each other warm.

Ladybugs have even been to space on the space shuttle.

But, most important of all, Ladybugs are considered good luck