Did you know that a group of ladybugs is called loveliness? Yes! I think that is a lovely description for the ladybugs who are working together to show us some love by eating the pest on the farmers’ crops.
Ladybugs have predators too. They are the birds, spiders, frogs, wasps, and dragonflies. However, the destruction of their habitat and climate change are the two main reasons for the decline in their population.
You can see loveliness or should I say groups of ladybugs gather to diapause (hibernate) during winter. This is their way of helping each other conserve the energy they stored for the season of cold weather. In this gathering, they also meet their mate for reproduction.
Did you know that Ladybugs are not native to the US? Yes! They were imported from Europe in the mid-1900s to control agricultural pests like aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, scale insects, eggs of Colorado Potato beetle. Few ladybugs feed on plants and pollen mildew.
An adult ladybug can live up to a year; however, they can eat as much as 50 aphids a day or 5000 aphids throughout their lifetime and that is why farmers love them.
Did you know that Ladybugs were an answered prayer for the farmers in Europe? Yes! According to several sources I have read, there’s a legend in Europe several hundred years ago, when the devoted farmers prayed to Virgin Mary for help with their infested crops. They believed that the swarm of Ladybirds which suddenly appeared on their farm were the answer to their prayers.
The word Ladybird was first seen in the Oxford dictionary around 1674.
The famous beetle with scarlet dome-shaped covering and seven black spots are popular in European countries as Ladybird while in Northern America, it is known as Ladybugs. The Entomologist preferred to call them Lady beetle.
How do I see ladybugs’ behavior? I see them as an inspiration for success.
Their red covering is a symbol of passion. They represent someone who knows their goals and feeds their hunger for what they want to achieve. They are focused on making their dream a reality. They know their purpose in life and they help others to become productive.
Poem written by Salvacion Roselle Reyes
Photo credit: Adobe Creative Cloud Express