Ladybug Day (13/06)

For those who are constantly surprised by the unusual number of holidays and memorable dates celebrated at different levels (from family to state and national), the number of calendar dates dedicated to a wide variety of cultural phenomena, traditions, household items, culinary inventions, etc. becomes an even greater revelation. Many such dates are dedicated to representatives of the animal world. A number of them are international in nature.

June 13 marks a holiday dedicated to a representative of the world of insects, the beetle family, namely – Ladybug Day.

The date is unofficial, but the fame of the insect to which it is dedicated is very wide. The ladybug has been familiar to most since childhood from memories, when a small bright bug with spots on its back crawled along its palm to its fingertips under a child’s rhyme: «Ladybug, fly to heaven...».

The ladybug has been and is considered a symbol of good luck in many cultures around the world. Somewhere she is considered an insect, which is a messenger of Heaven, connecting the world with God. Somewhere they believed that God's cow connected the world of living people with the afterlife. In a number of cultures, killing this insect was prohibited.

The etymology of the name of the insect is also associated with folklore and ancient beliefs. In most cultures, the name of this beetle is associated with God or the Virgin Mary, as well as Christian saints (Ladybug, Mary's beetle, Our Lady's bird, God's hen, etc.) In a number of cultures there is an association with the Sun.

One way or another, the Ladybug is a predominantly beneficial insect, since, being by nature an entomophage (a predator that devours other insects), it destroys crop pests such as aphids, larvae and eggs of leaf beetles, fireworms, etc. The larvae of the Ladybug show the same activity against pests. It is the predatory species of this beetle that are used purposefully in a number of countries in agriculture to combat certain types of pests.

Herbivorous species of Ladybugs, however, in a number of regions are themselves among the pests, damaging plantings of potatoes, corn, melons, and sugar beets.

Entomologists identify several hundred genera and several thousand species of Ladybirds. They are distinguished by their habitat and appearance. Bright color: orange, red, yellow, black with spots on the elytra are a warning to potential enemies that the insect is dangerous to them. Ladybugs are common in almost all latitudes, with the exception of Antarctica and the permafrost zone.

And today's date – is another reason to learn more about the world around us and its representatives.



Infographics – poster «Day of Ladybugs»

1961