Ladybirds are beetles. There are many kinds of ladybird. They
are different colours. They have spots on their shell. The wings
are kept under the shell. Ladybirds are a kind of beetle.
Beetles are insects. They have 3 parts to their bodies: head,
thorax and abdomen. They have wings. The front part of the wings
is hard and covers both the delicate back part of the wings and
the abdomen when the beetles are not flying. They have 6 legs
which are joined to the thorax (the middle part) of their
bodies. The legs are short and are usually hidden under their
bodies. They have antennae with a little knob on the end. This
kind of antennae is called clubbed antennae. Ladybirds are
called different names, such as ladybug, ladybird beetles and
lady beetles. There are about 4,500 different species, or kinds,
of ladybird in the world. They are different sizes, colors and
patterns. Sizes are from 1 to 10mm, depending on the kind of
ladybird. Females are often larger than males. Most kinds of
ladybird are useful to humans be