The ladybugs keep coming.
From where I do not know.
They come in swarms all summer
Their spots rain down like snow.

They crawl indoors and lay their eggs
They hatch all winter long.
My daddy vacuums every room
Until he thinks they’re gone.

My sister cannot stand them,
She screams until she’s red.
She wakes me up each morning
When she spots one in her bed.

My brother likes to play with them,
He hunts them night and day.
But they don’t last too long because
He flushes them away.

My mother does a funny dance
When one lands in her hair.
She turns and jumps and runs around.
And then she disappears.

I used to let them crawl on me,
when I went out to play.
But then they started biting.
Now I watch from far away.

What happened to the ladybugs?
The ones I used to know.
They used to come in summertime,
and leave before it snowed.

They used to fly in ones and twos,
they used to sleep outside,
I thought they ate the aphid bugs,
I thought they liked to hide.

Now they’re on the windowsills,
the curtains, and the bed.
Inside they don’t eat insects,
they drink lemonade instead.

Before you try to squish one,
you’d better stop and think.
‘Cause if you scare it, it gets mad
and makes an awful stink!

These ladybugs are tricky.
They’re not like bees or flies.
They hide their wings beneath their shell.
They’re beetles in disguise!

Their polka dots can’t fool me.
but one thing I can’t see,
If any of these ladybugs
might really be a he.

The beetle bugs are everywhere.
They’re in and all about.
So plug your nose, and shut your doors,
And get your vacuums out.

Oh look, two more…..now twenty-four!
They’re on the walls and floor.
I’ve never seen so many spots
It’s ladybugs galore!

Ladybug Facts:

• There are over 3,000 different kinds of ladybugs in the world. In North Amrerica, there are about 400 known types.
• Aphids are a ladybug’s favorite food.
• If you squeeze a ladybug it will bite you, but the bite won’t hurt.
• Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won’t eat them.
• The spots on a ladybug become lighter as the ladybug gets older. Ladybugs can have no spots or twenty spots.
• The Asian beetle is also known as the Japanese Ladybug. They were shipped to the United States to kill a pest that was harming citrus trees and have stayed ever since.
• Large numbers of lady beetles infesting homes and buildings in the United States were first reported in the early 1990s. Swarms of lady beetles typically fly to buildings in September though November depending on locale to escape the cold weather.  Ladybugs eat plant pests. They should not be killed if at all possible.

Rosanne Lindsay is a Naturopath, Herbalist, writer, and author who wrote children’s poems while raising three children to pass the time and document life’s little experiences. This poem is revived in honor of friends who are dealing with this year’s Asian beetle infestation. Get out the vacuum!