Ladybugs are cute little bugs with a colorful red shell decorated with black dots but as you will discover from the ladybug facts listed, there is much more to this creature.
Most people never give a second thought to the ladybug, which is a shame because of all bugs this one is actually quite intriguing. For starters, opposite from what the name indicates, ladybugs can be male or female.
In addition, while we usually refer to this bug as a “ladybug”, it is also called the Ladybird or Lady Beetle.
Ladybug Facts
Some additional ladybug facts, things that the majority of people do not know include the following:
- When born, the ladybug is completely black
- Throughout the world, more than 5,000 different types of ladybugs exist
- One of the most interesting ladybug facts is that unlike humans who chew up and down, this bug actually chews side to side
- To keep predators away, the ladybug is capable of producing a chemical that smells and tastes bad
- For a lady bug to turn from larvae to an adult takes just one week, another of the fascinating ladybug facts
- While most people think of ladybugs only as being red with black dots, they can also be orange with black dots or black with red dots
- The wings of a ladybug flaps 85 times per second during flight, one of the ladybug facts that we knew needed to be on the list
- Ladybugs bite, especially when picked up by humans
- As a ladybug ages, the spots start to fade
- Ladybugs can live up to one year, much longer than other insects although Asian ladybugs can live as long as three years in good environments
- Another fact is that many ladybug species will lay as many as 2,000 eggs during life
- Another fact we wanted to offer is that the brightly colored back is used to warn predators of the bad stench and taste produced with the chemical. This defense has proven so effective that many other insects, as well as ladybugs will mimic the color and black spots to keep predators away.
This cute and tiny insect has an incredible skill of playing dead. If a predator were to get too close, the ladybug will often dangle lifelessly from a branch or leaf to fool it.
As a means of conserving resources, as well as encouraging reproduction, ladybugs are notorious for using a special type of hibernation.
In many southwestern states, ladybugs will gather so densely on the ground that it appears as a red and black blanket.
During hibernation, the ladybug lives off its own energy reserves, followed by coming out of hibernation once temperatures reach 55 degrees and above.
We also wanted to mention in our list of ladybug facts that during the day, this insect is quite active but at night, they sleep.
Finally, the ladybug is the official insect of several states to include Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Delaware, and Ohio.
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