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Saturday, May 16, 2009

THE LADYBUG MYTH

As I stated before, I thought I'd take the time to explain the "Ladybug Myth." Some may not know that ladybugs have a special meaning to those of us in the Chinese adoption community. The Chinese adoption myth is that ladybugs are a sign of good luck and has been said that if you see a ladybug, your referral will be coming very soon.

Now, let me say right here that I do not believe in luck. I believe in the providence of God and His will in our lives. I do, however, think that for a bug ladybugs aren't all that bad, and I appreciate the symbol that they represent. Not only are ladybugs a sign of good luck in the Chinese adoption community, but they are also considered to be good luck in many other cultures.

There are many cultures that believe that if you kill a ladybug, then sadness and bad luck will follow you. There are those that believe that if a ladybug lands on you, it will give you good luck, the same as if you catch one.

Even the ladybug's spots have a certain myth about them. There are some that believe if a ladybug were to come in your home, you should count its spots and that will tell you the amount of money you will be receiving soon. Now, at this point I'm sure I've lost a few readers as they are now busy trying to find ladybugs to become debt free.

There's one myth that says that if a ladybug has more than seven spots, it mean there will be a famine. If the ladybug has less than seven spots, then you will have a good harvest. Anyone remember the story of Joseph and the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine? This ladybug myth sounds quite similar (The Bible's influence reaches everywhere!)

If you'd like to predict the number of children you will have, you guessed it, you need to count the spots you find on a ladybug, and wahla. It takes away all the guesswork! lol The pioneers believed if you were to find a ladybug in your cabin during winter, you would have good luck.

One particular Norse legend contends that a ladybug came to this Earth riding on a lightening bolt

According to the Victorians in Britain, they believe if a ladybug lands on a person's hand, they will be receiving new gloves. Also, if it lands on your head, you will be receiving a new hat soon.

There was a belief that supposedly in the 1800's doctors used ladybugs to treat measles, and it was also believed that if you crushed up ladybugs, you could put them into a cavity and it would stop a toothache. Yuck! I'd almost rather go to the dentist.

Gardeners love ladybugs! They eat mealybugs, mites and aphids, and can eat more than 1,000 aphids in one day. A female ladybug will lay more than 1,000 eggs in its lifetime. I guess they don't pay attention to that spot to children ratio myth, lol.

Believe it or not, ladybugs have a special organ in their feet to help them smell. They use their antennae to touch, smell and taste. They chew side to side instead of up and down. Ladybugs will not fly if it is cooler than 55 degrees. Ladybug do not see color, they only see shadows, and ladybugs will play dead when they are threatened.

The female is bigger than the male (what is up with that anyways?), and the number of spots on it sback helps to identify what kind of ladybug it is. The older the ladybug gets, their spots start to fade away.

Now you all know a lot more about ladybugs than you ever thought you would. So now run out and start counting those spots!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for providing all that interesting information about ladybugs. I knew little more than the nursery rhyme:

"Ladybug! Ladybug!
Fly away home.
Your house is on fire.
And your children all gone.

All except one,
And that's little Ann,
For she crept under
The frying pan."

OH, and have you ever been in the middle of a swarm of ladybugs? If not, you don't want to be!

John's Arts & Crafts said...

Great Blog & Photos! New blog on the Hx. of the Ladybug:
http://historyoftheladybug.blogspot.com/

Mark Kreider said...

I saw the comments you made on Linda's Photo Journal and thought that's someone I can relate too, better check out her blog!
Your blog is wonderful! My niece is doing quite a bit of dancing these days too.
I have become one of your followers!

Anonymous said...

For at least the last 15 to 20 years my mothers house everyspring has has been infaded by thousand if not million and I'm not kidding by Lady Bugs. It really never bothered me until tonight when I had this nightmare. Lady Bugs and nightmares don't seem to go hand and hand. To me Lady bugs always where pure and gentle. Am I missing something? Diane