"LADYBUG, LADYBUG, FLY AWAY HOME. YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE, YOUR CHILDREN WILL BURN."
Children in many different countries sing this nursery
rhyme. But no one knows for sure how or why the rhyme
started. One idea is that the rhyme came from places where
hops (a kind of crop) were grown. Ladybug larvae live on hop
vines. But these vines were burned after the harvest. So
singers warned the ladybug that her children would burn.
LADYBIRD BEETLE
Ladybird Beetle, common name for any of numerous related species of
brightly colored beetles found in temperate and tropical regions
throughout the world. The ladybird beetle is less than 1.2 cm (less than
0.5 in) in maximum length. It has a nearly hemispherical body,
rounded above and flat below, a small head, and short legs. Ladybird
beetles are often red or orange above, spotted with black, white, or
yellow. Some species are black, with or without spots. The larvae are
also brilliantly colored, often blue, with stripes of orange or black.
All the ladybird beetles, with the exception of the members of one
vegetation-eating genus, are carnivorous. In both the adult and larval
stages they feed on insects harmful to plants, such as aphids and scale
insects. Because of the help ladybird beetles render farmers in
destroying agricultural pests, the beetles were popularly regarded in the
Middle Ages as instruments of benevolent intervention by the Virgin
Mary, whence the common name ladybird.
A common North American species of ladybird beetle, the nine-spotted
ladybug beetle, is orange above, spotted with black. Adults of the
two-spotted ladybug beetle often hibernate in houses during winter.
This beetle is orange above, with a single large black spot on each
elytron (protective outer wing). The convergent ladybug beetle is a
western American species, the adults of which commonly swarm in large
numbers on mountain peaks. These swarms are collected by western
agricultural firms and are distributed to farmers for aphid control. The
vedalia, an Australian species, has been imported into California to
fight the cottony-cushion scale insect, which attacks citrus trees.
A few ladybird beetles are injurious to humans. The Mexican bean
beetle is the most serious of these agricultural pests, feeding on the
leaves and pods of bean plants. This beetle, which has spread
throughout the United States, is brownish-yellow above, marked with
eight black spots. The squash ladybird feeds on the leaves of plants of
the gourd family.
Scientific classification: Ladybird beetles make up the family
Coccinellidae. The nine-spotted ladybug beetle is classified as
Coccinella novemnotata, the two-spotted ladybug beetle as Adalia
bipunctata, the convergent ladybug beetle as Hippodamia convergens,
and the vedalia as Rodolia cardinalis. The few ladybird beetles that are
agricultural pests belong to the genus Epilachna. The Mexican bean
beetle is classified as Epilachna varivestis, the squash ladybird as
Epilachna borealis.
HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE
"Ladybird Beetle," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
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