Called either “ladybird” or “ladybug,” the little red beetle with the black spots is the well-known and beloved subject of a nursery rhyme.
It is called a “lady” after the Virgin Mary because it emerges around March 25, the time of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is also known as Lady Day.
Called the “Mary bug” in German, the ladybug brings good luck to a garden by eating unwanted pests.
