Ladybird (Coccinella), a genus of pretty little beetles, generally of a brilliant red or yellow colour, with black, red, white, or yellow spots. The form is nearly hemispherical, the under-surface flat, the thorax and head small, the antennæ and legs short.
When handled they emit a yellowish fluid, with a disagreeable smell. Adults and larvæ feed chiefly on aphides, and are thus most useful to hop-growers and other agriculturists. The eggs are laid under the leaves of plants, on which the larvæ afterwards run about in pursuit of aphides. In late autumn the surviving adults find safe corners, and hiber- nate till spring. Ladybirds occasionally occur in immense numbers, and from ignorance of their usefulness have sometimes been regarded with superstitions dread. The family of which the genus is type, Coccinellidæ, includes about 1500 species, of which forty or so are British. One of the commonest forms (C. septem-punctata) is found over all Europe, and in parts of Asia and Africa. The name is apparently a modification of Ladybug, lady referring to the Virgin Mary, as the German name Marienkäfer suggests.