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"Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home...
your house is on fire,
and your children will burn,
except little Nan, who sits in a pan,
weaving gold laces as fast as she can!"

During the Medieval Times farmers were distressed over their crops being destroyed by plant-devouring
pests, and prayed to the Virgin Mary. These prayers were answered when Coleoptera arrived. The name
"The Beetles of Our Lady" eventually became "Lady Beetles", then "Lady Bugs".

An adult ladybug may consume 5,000 aphids during its lifetime at a rate of 50 per day!

The famous Ladybug poem came about when farmers would sing this song to warn the beetles before
setting torches to the old hop vines after harvest. The "children" of the poem refer to the ladybug's
larvae, "nan" refers to the pupae, "laces" to the plants, and "pan" as in frying pan.

In Belgium it is believed that if a Ladybug crawls on a young woman's hand she will be married within
one year.

In Norway it is believed that if a man and a woman simultaneously see a Ladybug, a romance will
develop between them.

In France if a Ladybug lands on you, your ailments will fly away with it.

If you hold a Ladybug in your hand and make a wish, the direction it flies away to will show where your
luck will come from.

The red dye that was used in the British "Redcoats" and by Betsy Ross to color the
first American flag, was extracted from the shells of red beetles.

On your next museum visit, look closely at a Redcoat display and you may see the
tiny little legs!