Description
Do you call them a Ladybug or a Ladybird? They are all the same insect – a Coccinellidae beetle. It just depends where you live as to how they are called.
These insects have a lifespan of around one year but can sometimes live longer. Their top speed is 24 kilometres per hour which is pretty good considering their size. There are around 5,000 different species of ladybirds around the world and in some cultures are considered good luck. Farmers love them because they eat aphids that eat their plants and crops.
When threatened, the bugs secrete an oily, yukky, yellow fluid from joints in their legs – and their colouring acts a reminder to any peckish predators who’ve eaten their kind before that they taste disgusting!
