ladybird

noun

Etymology: From lady + bird. Lady here refers to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Compare German Marienkäfer (literally “Mary beetle or bug”), Danish mariehøne, Latvian mārīte, Macedonian бубамара (bubamara) and Spanish mariquita. Also compare damselfly.

1. Any of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and red or yellow spotted elytra.

   “1914, Entomological Society of America, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 7, page 81, During this time, they eat about 825 Toxoptera per ladybird, making an average of about twenty-five per day to each ladybird.”

   “1927, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Edward Everett Hale, and William Byron Forbush (editors), Childhood′s Favorites and Fairy Stories: The Young Folks Treasury, Volume 1, Gutenberg eBook #19993, Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home, / Thy house is on fire, thy children all gone: / All but one whose name is Ann, / And she crept under the pudding-pan.”