Location: Bukit Timah Nature Reserve – Dec 2025

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Ladybugs, or ladybird beetles, got their name about 500 years ago in Europe. It seems that farmers were having big trouble with insects called aphids. The aphids were sucking the juices from the farmers’ grape vines. So the farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. (People of some religions believe that Mary is the Mother of God.)

Later, lots of little red beetles showed up and ate the aphids. The farmers thought their prayers had been answered. So they named the helpful beetles in honor of Mary, who is also known as “Our Lady.”

In Europe, during the Middle Ages, insects were destroying the crops, so the Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon the Ladybugs came, ate the plant-destroying pests and saved the crops! The farmers began calling the ladybugs “The Beetles of Our Lady”, and they eventually became known as “Lady Beetles”! The red wings represented the Virgin’s cloak and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows. They didn’t differentiate between males and females.

Source: John Costa Researcher

Some facts of ladybugs:

• Ladybugs are a type of beetle
• There are about 5,000 species 
• Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in aphid colonies, and as soon as they hatch, the larvae immediately start feeding
• One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime
• Female lady bugs are larger than male lady bugs
• They flap their wings 85 times per second
• To help defend themselves, ladybugs play dead
• A ladybug can live up to a year long
• There are two sets of wings. The outer set is the hard shell for protection, and the inner set are what it uses to fly

All the ladybugs photos was taken in Singapore

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