Ladybugs: Fun Facts and Trivia

                  

There are about 5000 different species of ladybugs in the world. They come in many different colors and patterns, but the most familiar in North America and Europe is the seven-spotted ladybug.

People like ladybugs because they are pretty, graceful, and harmless to humans. Farmers love them because they eat aphids and other plant-eating pests. One female ladybug can eat as many as 75 aphids in one day! 

A ladybug’s bright color warns birds that it does not taste good. When threatened, they will secrete an oily, foul tasting fluid from joints in their legs, or play dead. The main predators of ladybugs are birds, but they also fall victim to dragonflies,frogs, wasps and spiders. 

Here are some other interesting facts about ladybugs:
-Ladybugs chew from side to side instead of up and down like humans
-Ladybugs smell with their feet and antennae.
-Female ladybugs are larger than male ladybugs
-The color of a ladybug’s spots begin to fade as it gets older.
-Ladybugs are most active when their body temperature is 75 degrees or warmer.