Ladybird

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈleɪ.di.bəːd/
• US IPA: /ˈleɪ.di.bɝd/

Alternative forms

• lady-bird

Origin

From lady + bird, the “lady” here referring to the Virgin Mary, Jesus′ mother. Compare German Marienkäfer.

Full definition of ladybird

Noun

1. Any of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and red or yellow spotted elytra.
• 1914, Entomological Society of America, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 7, %22ladybirds%22|%22lady+bird|birds%22+-intitle:%22ladybird|ladybirds%22+-inauthor:%22ladybird%22&dq=%22ladybird%22|%22ladybirds%22|%22lady+bird|birds%22+-intitle:%22ladybird|ladybirds%22+-inauthor:%22ladybird%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SvybT7v3NumsiAf61bTYDg&redir_esc=y 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, %22ladybirds%22|%22lady+bird|birds%22+-intitle:%22ladybird|ladybirds%22+-inauthor:%22ladybird%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=COWbT5PGG6eXiQeD2tCqDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ladybird%22|%22ladybirds%22|%22lady%20bird|birds%22%20-intitle%3A%22ladybird|ladybirds%22%20-inauthor%3A%22ladybird%22&f=false 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.
• 2008, John L. Capinera, Encyclopedia of Entomology, Springer-Verlag New York, 2nd Edition, %22ladybirds%22|%22lady+bird|birds%22+-intitle:%22ladybird|ladybirds%22+-inauthor:%22ladybird%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=COWbT5PGG6eXiQeD2tCqDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ladybird%22|%22ladybirds%22|%22lady%20bird|birds%22%20-intitle%3A%22ladybird|ladybirds%22%20-inauthor%3A%22ladybird%22&f=false page 2130,Perhaps it was a sense of lack of effectiveness of native ladybirds in rapid and complete control of aphid infestations that led to attempts to import additional aphid-feeding ladybird species into North America.

Usage notes

The term ladybird is used both in British and US English, although the alternative ladybug is common in the US.

Synonyms

• (beetle) coccinellid, ladybug North America, lady beetle term preferred by some scientists, lady cow obsolete, lady fly obsolete