ladybird beetle

[ ley-dee-burd ]

noun

1. ladybug.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ladybird beetle¹

1730–40, Americanism; lady (uninflected possessive case) Virgin Mary + bird; i.e. (our) Lady's bird

Example Sentences

The attractive red and black ladybird beetle, or ladybug, celebrated in the nursery rhyme, eats aphids and other small insects—to the gardener's delight.

From Time Magazine Archive

But even when warmed up the ladybird beetle is too temperamental to breed in captivity, so that every one shipped has to be captured.

From Time Magazine Archive

Scientific investigations have failed to show that the release of this ladybird beetle in any aphis-infested field ever resulted in an effective reduction of the aphis population in that field.

From Time Magazine Archive