ladybird

Definition

Any of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and red or yellow spotted elytra.

Etymology

From lady + bird, the “lady” here referring to the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother. Compare German Marienkäfer (literally “Mary beetle/bug”), Danish mariehøne, Latvian mārīte, Macedonian бубамара (bubamara) and Spanish mariquita. Also compare damselfly.

Example Sentences

• "1914, Entomological Society of America, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 7, page 81, During this time, they eat about 825 Toxoptera per ladybird, making an average of about twenty-five per day to each ladybird."
• "1927, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Edward Everett Hale, and William Byron Forbush (editors), Childhood′s Favorites and Fairy Stories: The Young Folks Treasury, Volume 1, Gutenberg eBook #19993, Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home, / Thy house is on fire, thy children all gone: / All but one whose name is Ann, / And she crept under the pudding-pan."
• "1976 September 30, Denis Owen, Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, New Scientist, page 686, Ladybirds, unlike most beetles, enjoy considerable popularity: they are attractive to look at and are well-known as useful predators of aphids—the greenfly and blackfly that destroy garden plants and crops."