Where does a ladybug get its spots? What does the different number of black dots on ladybugs mean? Alfalfa twenty-four-spot ladybird

WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO COMPOSE A FAIRY TALE?

The guys wrote their own fairy tales. They turned out interesting, unusual and different. It was difficult to choose the best. Everyone tried. Well done! Many children were helped by their parents. Thanks to them for this. And here are the names of those who showed creativity and composed wonderful fairy tales: Nastya, Masha, Edgars, Andrey, Christina, Dasha, Diana, Ilya, Philip, Marina, Sofya, Edgar, Lisa, Arseny, Nadya, Evelina.

Fairy tale by Dasha Semenikhina:

Once upon a time there lived a red ladybug. She flew into the meadow. He flies and sees: the grasshopper has twisted its leg. She helped him and brought him home. At the porch, a grasshopper noticed a black spot on the back of a ladybug. The ladybug flew further. He sees a small butterfly caught in a web. The ladybug helped the butterfly, and another spot appeared on its back. She sat down to rest near the stream. He sees that the dragonfly's wing is wet. She helped the dragonfly dry its wing. And a third torture appeared on his back. The spots on the ladybug's back appeared from good deeds!"

Tale of Plyasunov Philip:

"A little bug went out for a walk on a lush blade of grass. It was a warm summer morning, the sun was shining, the forest flowers were fragrant, and the bug was happy.

He was looking for a drop of fresh dewdrop to refresh himself. He ran merrily, stretched his legs, shook his wings and did not notice how a cunning, young titmouse hid in a bush. The chick flew up to the bug and grabbed it with its beak. Fortunately, the bug saw the danger and managed to prepare. “Oh, how bitter!” the chick exclaimed and, releasing the victim, hurried to its parents. - “Mom, mom, I myself wanted to catch my first bug. It was small, round with red wings, but it turned out to be bitter and unpleasant.” - Silly you! This is a ladybug!" said my mother. "She secretes small droplets that look like milk, but they are poisonous. That's why they called her a cow. You can't touch her!"

The chicks held a meeting and decided to single out the ladybug. They asked an ant they knew for help. He agreed. A wise ant dipped its antennae into a ripe blueberry and drew black spots on its back. Since then, birds always recognize the ladybug and do not touch it.

The tale of Marina Vashurina :

" Once upon a time there was a ladybug and she had a best friend - Rain. When it was raining, the ladybug went outside with an umbrella and played with her friend. But one day she forgot her umbrella and went outside without it. The rain dripped onto the cow's back and spots appeared on her."

Fairy tale by Nikita Afanasyev:

There lived a bug, an ordinary one, red... there was nothing special about it, except that the name was “Ladybug”. True, one could meet green ones and yellow ones, and various others, but completely sadly identical. He thought about the injustice of fate... he so wanted to be intricate and colorful, and he couldn’t come up with anything. What to do, what to do? - he asked from a wise hundred-year-old spider... but even the spider could not help him. “How can I become extraordinary?” he asked the stars, the sun and the moon. They didn’t answer him... they never answered anything, because they were too high and far away, and they didn’t see a small bug, so ordinary, so earthly and completely unnoticed. And then one day... he walked away, sadly hanging his head, and suddenly ran into something that prevented him from going further. Bug!!!, exactly the same as him, but only it was a girl! Beautiful, elegant, she stood in front of a box of paint, and constantly looked in the mirror, spinning in front of him, trying to turn her back. Seeing our bug, she was delighted and said: “Hello, can you help me? I’m drawing, and I accidentally spilled paint... black,... it splattered all over its back! Indeed, its entire back was covered in black dots, and what a miracle! - it was so beautiful, black on red, that our friend realized that this is what he needed - this little bug-girl, her colors and black dots, and then he would be happy. He asked his new friend to draw him the same ones, and they had a lot of fun while they painted each other. That’s pretty much how it turned out that since then, ladybugs have little black dots on their backs, like this:.....

The tale of Mintals Edgars:

Once upon a time there lived an artist. One lazy morning he went out into the garden. I sat down on a chair, took out paints and suddenly saw a ladybug on the canvas. He liked it so much that he decided to draw it. And now the picture is ready. But the artist didn’t like something. He decided to add spots to his ladybug. Ladybug, who had been watching the artist all this time, saw these spots. She liked them so much that she wanted the same ones for herself. And she got them. After all, when you really want something, it always comes true. Since then, the ladybug has had black spots.

Tale of Sophia Beketova:

Lived-there was a ladybug. She had two friends: the ant Murasha and the mosquito Pif. One day Ladybug went for a walk in the clearing. And there I met my friends with these words: “Hello, my dear friends!” And suddenly the clearing was illuminated by bright sunlight. And the friends replied: “Ladybug, you are beautiful today.” And at this time a dark spot appeared on her back. Then Ant and Mosquito suggested: “We’ll share a chocolate with you.” And another spot appeared. And every time her dear friends Pif and Murasha said good words, new spots appeared on Ladybug. Ladybug was very pleased with both her friends and herself.

A long time ago, in time immemorial, a ladybug did not wear such a bright red shell with black spots as it does now. And it was an ordinary gray color and was simply called a cow. She flew around the fields, through the meadows. She ate alfalfa and clover, and lived her carefree life. People didn't pay any attention to the cow. Even small children did not look in her direction. Moreover, they could accidentally step on it. After all, the cow was so inconspicuous, gray and inconspicuous. So the kids didn’t notice her, but caught grasshoppers and chased butterflies, because grasshoppers and butterflies, unlike the cow, were bright and beautiful. The cow was very upset that the children did not play with her. She dreamed that someday a miracle would happen, and she would become as motley and colorful as a butterfly. But days passed after days, no miracle happened and the cow remained the same gray.

But one day a terrible disaster happened. Countless hordes of aphids descended to the ground and attacked the crops. They destroyed fields with crops, orchards and vegetable gardens, forests and flowers, eating everything in a matter of minutes. And nothing could stop the aphids, neither deep rivers, nor high mountains, nor wide plains. The aphids covered vast spaces, devouring everything that came in their way, leaving behind only dried out trees and rotten grass. Hunger began among the people. A little more and they would have died. And then the people prayed and began to ask God for help. Day and night, on their knees, they cried out to the Almighty with a prayer for salvation. But God did not hear people’s prayers. And, without hearing them, I could not help them.

Then the little gray cow, who understood the language of people, seeing their grief and hearing their prayers, decided to help them. She fluttered her gray wings and flew to the sky. The cow flew for a long time, three days and three nights were left behind. And the higher she rose, the more difficult it became to fly. The sun burned more and more mercilessly, and from its hot breath the cow turned red, and the bright rays burned through her shell in several places, leaving black spots on it. The cow flew upward with all her strength. A little more and she would have simply fallen down. Fortunately, there was very little left before the end of the journey. God saw the little one struggling and stretched out his hand to her. “Thank you, God, for not letting me die,” whispered the exhausted cow. “So don’t let the people who are waiting for your help on earth die.” And she told God about the terrible disaster that was happening among people.

God listened attentively to the story, then thought for a while and said: “Courageous little cow!” You are very kind, and also very strong and brave. You were not afraid to travel a huge distance to tell me about people’s misfortune, at the risk of simply not making it or falling to the ground, scorched by the sun. You have to help people! It is you who will rid the earth of the merciless aphids and bring salvation to people. You will destroy aphids just as they destroyed fields and gardens before.” “But how am I going to fight her?” the cow said in surprise. “You will become a predator and eat aphids. And this will be the biggest delicacy for you. No one will ever dare to offend you again, for you will be my messenger on earth, and people will call you Ladybug. And this bright red color of your shell with black dots will remind people of the good deed that you have done for them. You will bring good luck to people and become for them a symbol of bright sun, warm rain and fertility. Fly down, get down to the ground and do what I told you to do. And may my blessing give you confidence and strength.”

The ladybug descended to the ground and began to carry out the task assigned to it by God. She entered into a battle with the hated aphid and ate it with such diligence, as if it were the most delicious cake in the world. And huge hordes of these vile insects were forced to retreat. “Guard!!! Save yourself, whoever can!” - they shouted in fear and ran away in different directions. But the ladybug found and ate aphids wherever they were not hiding - on a tree, under a stone or inside a flower. And after some time there was no longer a corner on the earth where aphids once reigned.

The trees came to life again, the fields began to sprout and flowers grew. Peace and grace came to earth. People were saved from hunger and extinction. They thanked the brave cow for her wonderful and courageous deed. "Brave cow! You saved the earth from ruin and devastation. And it gave us back hope and confidence in the future. For what you have done, we will honor you like a sacred insect. From now on, a human hand will never rise against you. This will be a terrible sin, which can turn into misfortune for the one who breaks this vow. We know that you can fly straight to God and turn to him, so we will convey to you our requests and wishes for him. We will prepare amulets with your image, and they will protect us from misfortune and warn us of danger.” - “Okay, people. Let it be so! - answered Ladybug. “And I will also predict to you whether the harvest will be successful, whether the weather will be sunny and warm, indicate to young girls whether they will soon get married, and help shepherds find lost sheep.”

For such a kind heart, people began to treat Ladybug with even more respect and have the warmest feelings for her. But most of all, Ladybug likes that from then on children always notice her, rejoice and play with her. Now they see her bright color and will never pass by. What gives the cow special pleasure is that, having placed her on the palm of her hand, children often ask her to fulfill their cherished desire, and then be sure to recite the rhyme:
"Ladybug!
Fly to the sky
I'll give you bread
A whole loaf.

Ladybug-
Black head!
Only you more often
Come and visit!"

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What does the different number of black dots on ladybugs mean?

The number of dots or specks is related to the species to which the specimen belongs, and not to age. The number of dots varies among different species of ladybugs, as well as among those species that exhibit color polymorphism (variability); the number of points may vary within a species or even within a single local population. Most ladybugs you will encounter will either be after hibernation, i.e. reaching full development at the end of summer last year, or the current year's generation. You can use the number of spots, base color and size to determine the species. In some species, such as two-spot or ten-spot b.c. the number of dots and overall color of one individual may differ from normal. For example, over a hundred different color forms are recognized for two-spotted ladybugs. This species normally has an overall red color and two distinct black spots; however, you may find that there are individuals ranging from black with red spots to those with no spots at all. This polymorphism comes from genetic variation within a species.

You don't need to be an entomologist to have an idea of what a ladybug looks like. A small red bug with black dots is familiar to everyone since childhood and immediately catches the eye not only of humans, but also of representatives of the animal world.

Ladybugs are arthropod insects from the order Coleoptera; their front wings are transformed into hard elytra that cover the beetle from above like nutshells. A young individual is easily distinguished by its bright red or orange color; with age, the color of the elytra fades, but the number of black dots remains constant. The number of marks depends on the species of the insect. Today, scientists identify 360 genera of ladybugs, including about 4 thousand species, some of which are named by the number of black dots on the elytra.

Warning coloring is a special sign for birds and predators, meaning that there is a poisonous insect in front of them. In case of danger, these beetles release hemolymph from the joints of their legs - a substance that is deadly for many representatives of the fauna.

Seven-spotted ladybugs are the most common species, whose representatives inhabit the steppes, forests and gardens of Europe, Asia and North Africa, they were specially brought to North America several times to combat aphids, scale insects and other agricultural pests.

Seven-spotted ladybug on a blade of grass.

The beetles grow up to 5 - 8 mm in length, their elytra are distinguished by a convex oval shape and a red or yellowish-orange color with 7 black dots: 3 on the elytra and one in the middle near the scutellum. Some individuals may have clearly visible white spots on the front of their heads.

Double-spotted elytra beetles are a typical European and North American species, also introduced to Australia as an effective biological agent. In 1991, the two-spotted ladybird was awarded the title of national insect of Latvia.

Adults are about 5 mm long. The color of the insects is usually bright red, with one black spot on each of the elytra. The pronotum (the segment between the head and the elytra) is black with a yellow border or yellow with a clearly visible letter “M” in the middle.

A species characteristic of Eurasia, the USA and Canada. The beetles, from 4.5 to 7 mm long, are distinguished by an elongated body, orange elytra and 13 black dots, which sometimes merge with each other.

Thirteen-spotted ladybird (lat. Hippodamia tredecimpunctata).

Fourteen-spotted ladybird

Representatives of the species are widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa. Insect elytra can be painted in two color variations: black spots on a yellow background and vice versa. The number of dots is always constant and amounts to 14 pieces, some of which merge and form a bizarre, characteristic pattern with clear geometry.

Fourteen-spotted ladybug (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata).

Alfalfa twenty-four-spot ladybird

The natural range of these beetles is in Europe and Asia; insects were brought to North America by humans. Unlike most ladybugs, these beetles are not predators, but typical phytophages that prefer to feed on the green mass of plants, especially alfalfa, soapwort and cloves.

A small beetle, 3-4 mm long, colored red with 24 black spots randomly scattered across the elytra.

Twenty-eight-spotted potato ladybug (epilachna)

Another vegetarian among the cows, preferring potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and melons to aphids. Representatives of the species are found in the Far East, China, Korea and Japan. The beetle grows up to 5 mm in length, and its red wing covers are decorated with 28 black dots.

Twenty-eight-spotted potato ladybug (epilachna).

A member of the family that prefers to live in coniferous forests. The yellow or pale red elytra of insects contain about 10 black spots each, surrounded by a light border. The spots resemble an eye in appearance; they can be clearly defined, sometimes they blur or disappear altogether. Ocellated ladybugs can grow up to 1 cm in length.

Ocellated ladybug (lat. Anatis ocellata).

A European species introduced to North America. The beetles get their name from the variability of their black spots. Orange elytra usually have 6 black dots and one scute, which may merge with each other or be completely absent. The body length of the variable ladybird is from 3 to 5.5 mm.

Variable ladybird (Hippodamia variegata).

See also: Asian ladybug: life cycle (+ photo).

Fourteen-spotted ladybird

Alfalfa twenty-four-spot ladybird

Twenty-eight-spotted potato ladybug (epilachna)

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