Did you know that the ladybird/ladybug is neither a bird nor a bug?
It is in fact a beetle — and for some reason or another, I seem to have an infestation of them in my bedroom (well, on my window).
I’ve noticed a few of them in my room over the last couple of years (mostly caught in spider webs) but they seem to have multiplied this spring. I counted at least 10 in plain sight when I took this photo, and there’s probably plenty more hiding.
For those that are wondering: the white dots on my finger are Tipex (correcting fluid). I only realized after I took the photo that ladybirds actually have black spots. But whatever…
I’m out until Tuesday. Hopefully I’ll manage to take some photos, though, lest I fall even further behind…
Miguel López
Mar 6, 2011
These beetles are called “Mariquitas” in Spain. We also use this word to call someone gay, but in the “you wear girly clothes and/or your character is girly”. A more hard word for this is “Maricón”. This is used to call someone “a fag/faggot” in a more blunt way.
In latin america, these beetles are called “Vaquitas de San Antonio” (little cows of St. Anthony). Strange
sebastian
Mar 6, 2011
St Anthony! My saint! (Well, one of my two saints…)
Yeah, the Wiki page says they’re sometimes called ‘cows’. I guess because of the black spots?
I think we have the phrase ‘ladyboy’ for someone who dresses/acts like a girl. Or maybe it’s ‘girlyboy’.
Renee
Mar 6, 2011
Ladybugs are quite common in our house but we don’t mind them too much. Haven’t seen any lately though. I think ours is an Asian variety that was released in the area to control some pest and they seem to have gotten into houses. The dots on ours are much smaller.
a!kO
Mar 7, 2011
Hmm I haven’t seen any around my area…or maybe they just don’t migrate to my house/area.
I think they are pretty for being a beetle..lady beetle 
Hmmm I wonder if theres a lady beetle love nest in your room? 
hehe…ahhh falling behind, guilty as charged! 
I took a week off and I am a week OFF! 
Hope to see you soon-ish!
x0x0
Senth
Mar 9, 2011
So where’s number 63? Aren’t beetles a subcategory of bugs, so it’s in fact ?
In Sweden they’re called ‘nyckelpiga’; which translates to ‘key maid’.
sebastian
Mar 9, 2011
Doh, did I miss a number again? Sigh…
Renee — I think there are many different species! Most of the ones I saw as a kid were deep red… but these were orange!
And the dot patterns can vary a lot, too
Senth — apparently there are bugs, and ‘true bugs’… (Wiki it)