Names Can Be Deceiving

Title: Names Can Be Deceiving
Description: Learn all about ladybugs and practice your numbers with this fun rock painting activity.
Season: All year
Length of Activity: 45 minutes
Age: 3-6
Button: Start the Activity

Are Ladybugs Really Bugs?
English is a funny language. There is no apple in pineapple nor is there an egg in eggplant. As for ladybugs? Well, it turns out that they aren’t actually bugs at all.
They are beetles!

Best known for their spotted red and black bodies, ladybugs, or rather, lady beetles, are both graceful and harmless to humans, making them one of the world’s favorite insects.

But that’s not the only reason lady beetles are so loved, farmers, in particular, often purposefully introduce them to their gardens because they feed on plant-eating insects like aphids.

In fact, that is where they got their name.

History tells us that European farmers prayed to Mary when pests began eating their crops. Shortly thereafter, ladybugs came and wiped out the invading insects. The farmers then began calling them “beetles of Our Lady” which overtime was shortened to lady beetle and again to what we know it as today: ladybug.

Supplies and Tools needed:
● 10 rocks (this works best if they are rounded and slightly flat
● Red paint
● A paintbrush
● A permanent black marker with a fine tip
● Wiggly eyes

Getting started

Step 1: Go outside and find 10 round rocks. If you live in a place where there are few rocks, you can also purchase some here.

Step 2: Paint all 10 of your rocks red and set them aside to dry.

Step 3: Once they have dried, use your marker to color a half-circle on the upper part of the rock to form the head.

Step 4: Using your marker, draw a thin line down the middle to form the wings.

Step 5: Continuing with your marker, now add your dots. Put 1 dot on your first rock, 2 dots on your second, 3 on your third, etc., so that you have one lady beetle that corresponds to each number, 1-10.

Step 6: Glue your wiggly eyes on the black half-circle and let dry.

Taking it Deeper

While the red and black spotted lady beetle is the species we are most familiar with, there are more than 5,000 different kinds of lady beetles, each of them with their own unique color and pattern.

What colors do you suppose they come in?
Why do you suppose they are so brightly colored?

You can also learn more about the different species with this beautiful book by Gail Gibbons.

Further Reading
If you’d like to learn more about lady beetles, National Geographic kids has compiled some lovely information here. If you love storybooks, this one is, by far, our favorite. Look for it at your public library or local bookstore, or you can listen to it read aloud here.

Further Watching
Do you want to learn more about ladybugs? This video shows a fascinating timelapse presentation of their life-cycle.