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

PupaeEventually,

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 2002 http://www.geocities.com/sseagraves/schoolyardscience.htm

Wild Birds Foreever, Ladybug Habitation Boxes. 8 April 2002 <http://birdsforever.com/ladybug.html>

Author unnamed, Ladybugs ladybugs. 27 March 2002http://members.tripod.com/~llladybug/ladybuggraphics.html

Country Road Graphics, Ladybug Set. 8 April 2002 http://countryroad.50megs.com/ladybugset.html

Enchanted Learning Software, Ladybug. 25 March 2002 www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/Ladybug.shtml

http://www.creativethursday.com/blog/wp-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<http://www.capitalnursery.com/newsletr/v1n1.html>

C. Fooshee, Mid-Florida Research and Education Center. 8 April 2002 http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Foliage/entomol/ncstate

Author unknown, Ladybugs. 8 April 2002. http://www.geocities.com/paraskits/index/ladybugs/ladybugs.html#How the Ladybug got its name

University of Alberta, Aphid Parallel Game-Tree Search Library. 8 April 2002http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~games/aphid/photo.html

References

Some pictures of ladybugs were taken by teachers of Serra Catholic School using the Intel Play QX3 Computer Microscope in March and April 2002.

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/macro_nature/ladybug.jpg

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dladybugs%2B%252Bfarmers%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26ei%3Dutf-8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=100&h=100&imgurl=www.growquest.com%2Findeximages%2Flbugwithaphid.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.growquest.com%2Ffree_ladybugs.htm&size=7.6kB&name=lbugwithaphid.jpg&p=ladybugs%20+farmers&type=JPG&oid=035e20dbabead3ec&no=6&tt=15

References

This presentation was created by the

Technology Staff of

Serra Catholic School 2002, edited April 2008