Q&A: ‘Ladybugs’ vs ‘ladybirds’

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, ladies first..

Q: Hi AWC, what’s the deal with ladybugs?

A: The little red and black beetles?

Q: Yeah, that’s them. Are they “ladybugs” or “ladybirds”?

A: They’re both!

Q: Ugh. Why two names? I can understand “bug”, but why “bird”? And most importantly, why “lady”?

A: So many questions!

Q: It’s literally my job.

A: Okay, well you’re right – there ARE two names and they get used side by side today. “Ladybird” was the original name, popping up in the English language in the 1600s.

Q: How did it get that name?

A: The “lady” part is actually fairly straightforward.

Q: Pffffft. 

A: What?

Q: You said “lady part” pffffft.

A: Oh do grow up. Anyway, “lady” came from the “Virgin Mary” – a common naming practice of the day, in relation to “Our Lady of”. And for Catholic farmers of the time, not only did the bright red shell remind them of the red mantle that she often wore in paintings, but apparently the European species of insects had seven black spots – linking to the story of Mary and her seven joys and sorrows.

Q: Wow, they really went all in on this.

A: They sure did. And to cap it all off, the ladybird was – despite its cute appearance – a ferocious killer of pests in the garden.

Q: Ummm, just like the Virgin Mary famously was?

A: Haha, nope. But because they feasted on all the bad insects, the farmers saw it as “Our Lady” protecting their crops.

Q: A Biblical pesticide!

A: That’s the one. Remember that Mother Goose rhyme that you’d sing if one landed on you? “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home…”

Q: Is that the one about its house being on fire?

A: Yep. Farmers would set fire to their fields after harvest, so it was likely providing a warning as a thank you to these beetles for protecting their crops.

Q: Fun. But why “bird”?

A: Good question. For starters, “bird” for some centuries had connections to a maiden, or the Virgin Mary. But also, they had little wings and could fly, so why not? Even the Swedish word for the beetle translates as “Our Lady’s little hen”. The flying part just seemed to fit it at the time – it was even known as a “lady fly” for a short time.

Q: But then came “ladybug”…

A: Yeah – and this was the Americans. They rightfully took one look at it and thought it looked more like a bug than a bird. The name appeared in the 1690s, but curiously, the bug itself wasn’t introduced to North America until the 1900s. And by the way, it’s technically a beetle, not a bug.

Q: Yeah I occasionally hear “lady beetle” being used.

A: One name you won’t hear anymore is “ladycow” – but that was yet ANOTHER name for this insect, during the 1700s. Despite all the bugs, birds, beetles and cows, the “lady” part has remained consistent.

Q: Pffffft.

A: Stop it.

Q: And today, are Americans the ones who use “ladybug”?

A: They sure are – almost exclusively. In fact, they find the concept of a “ladybird” rather unusual – pulling out the same “but it’s not a bird” argument. And sure, they have a point. It is closer to a bug than a bird in modern vernacular.

Q: And here in Australia?

A: Just like the UK, NZ, South Africa and anywhere else the British conquered, we prefer to use “ladybird”. However, Macquarie Dictionary does acknowledge “lady beetle” and “ladybug” too. If you’re writing for an international audience, we’d probably even recommend one of those two, just to avoid inevitable American confusion.

Q: I suppose beetle and bug are often switched around. Like the VW beetle and the film about one called “The Love Bug”. 

A: True. Volkswagen originally called that car the “Type 1” and despite first being produced in the late 1930s, it wasn’t until 1968 that it was marketed as a “beetle”. In the US, they called it the “beetle-bug” – reinforcing that connection. The insect is itself from the Coccinellidae family of beetles – and the French have the same name for the insect and the car – “coccinelle”’.

Q: Wait, isn’t that the name of the bug crushed to make red food colouring? Surely not!

A: No, that’s a different insect called a “cochineal”. 

Q: Phew. But what about the 2017 Greta Gerwig film “Lady Bird” – that’s American. Why didn’t the character call herself “Lady Bug”?

A: Ah, this was actually in reference to the nickname given to the wife of 1960s US President Lyndon Johnson – “Lady Bird” Johnson. 

Q: Okay, sure. But SHE was American. So how did she get that name?

A: She was given the name as a child, because she was “as pretty as a lady bird” – likely referring to a female bird rather than what was known as a “ladybug” in the US. It was always written as two words – “Lady Bird” – reinforcing this theory.

Q: And “Ladybird Books” – I read those as a child. I assume that’s British?

A: Yep. It’s part of Penguin Books and has been a London-based early reading publishing imprint since 1867. It even uses the iconic beetle for its logo.

Q: So to recap, the “lady” came from the Virgin Mary. The “bird” maybe also came from her, or simply from it having wings – and the USA changed it to “bug”, although it’s actually a beetle. And both names are equally common today.

A: That’s right! Now fly away please – your house is on fire.

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