ladybird

/ ˈleɪdɪˌbɜːd /

noun

1. Usual US and Canadian name: ladybug. any of various small brightly coloured beetles of the family Coccinellidae, such as Adalia bipunctata ( two-spotted ladybird ), which has red elytra marked with black spots

Word History and Origins

Origin of ladybird¹

C18: named after Our Lady, the Virgin Mary

Example Sentences

Like many insects, ladybirds enter a state of inactivity over winter known as diapause – an insect version of hibernation.

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As well as this the Hippodamia variegata, known as the Adonis ladybird have been seen in drier parts of the forest.

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Certain insects - including ladybirds, butterflies and wasps - are thriving after the warmest and sunniest spring on record across the UK.

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He now runs a business, painting murals of ladybirds, ducks and mythical creatures.

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The nursery rhyme that goes “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, your house is on fire, your children are gone” cruelly repeated in my head.

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