The Seven-Spot Ladybug (Coccinella septempunctata) is an insect with a significant cultural and religious history.

The name "ladybug" comes from Christianity, where "ladybug" means the Virgin Mary and the red color of the beetle symbolizes her cloak. The seven spots are believed to represent her seven joys and seven sorrows.

Here are some of our favourite fun ladybug facts for kids, that they are bound to love!

1.
The family's scientific name Coccinellidae is derived from the word coccineus in Latin, which means "scarlet", as the most common ladybugs then were typically brilliant red in colour.

2.
Ladybugs are really interesting insects, but they are actually considered beetles, not bugs!

3.
Ladybugs are a type of insect. They fit into this group because of their body form, made up of a head, thorax, and abdomen, and because they have six legs and an exoskeleton.

4.
Ladybugs like to live in different habitats, including shrubs, trees, forests, grasslands, cities, suburbs, along the river, and crops.

5.
Ladybugs, the small, spotted beetles that are commonly seen in gardens, come in a variety of colors and numbers of spots.

6.
Ladybugs have a colourful shell that protects their wings. This helps them to fly really fast to find their favourite food aphids. The Ladybug shell also wards away predators.

7.
The spots on a ladybug shell warn predators to stay away.

8.
Ladybugs can have black spots or red spots and if you look closely you could find up to 20 on a shell.
The amount of spots depend on the type of ladybug.

9.
If they feel threatened by a predator, these insects will produce a bitter-tasting chemical paste on their bodies.

10.
Ladybugs are not poisonous to people; the only problem with them is they tend to bite.
They do so in rare situations where they are in desperate search of food and moisture. Also, they leave a foul-smelling yellow fluid behind, and since it contains specific types of proteins, they can trigger allergic reactions in the human body.

11.
Ladybugs play dead to defend themselves. These clever insects hide their legs under their shell and stop moving.
By doing this, predators don't even notice these small beetles.

12.
In England, Ladybugs are known as Ladybirds.

13.
The ladybug is native to Europe, and was brought to North America to help the farmers.

14.
There are around 5,000 different species of Ladybugs. They can be red, yellow, brown and even black.

15.
The average life expectancy of a Ladybug is actually 1-2 years.
Their life cycle goes through various stages from egg, larvae, and pupa to adult. However, the actual life expectancy depends on a variety of factors including weather, food, water, and predators.

16.
Ladybugs are most active from spring until fall. When the weather turns cold, they look for a warm, secluded place to hibernate, such as in rotting logs, under rocks, or even inside houses. These hibernating colonies can contain thousands of ladybugs.
They come back out in Spring to find a mate.

17.
Ladybugs can have some harmful effects for pets if eaten but it's not deadly.
There are no recorded deaths in humans or pets from ladybugs. Humans, cats, and dogs, would need to ingest hundreds or thousands of them for their toxins to result in death. At most, a dog or cat might suffer some digestive discomfort after consuming a few of these beetles.

18.
Adult ladybugs can eat up to 50 aphids a day.
Aphids are small bugs that nibble on plants, sucking the sap out of them. Farmers don't like when bugs suck the sap out of their crops this as it ruins their plants.

19.
Ladybugs can eat up to 5,000 bugs in their lifetime!

20.
In many cultures, across most of the world, the ladybug is considered a sign of good luck, perhaps because it eats garden pests.

Also read: 45 Cool Things About Bugs

Sources
GeoBeats / GeoBeats / Ladybug Planet / AZ Animals / Kidadl / National Geographic Kids
Image credit: callnorthwest