Miscellaneous

Divine Intervention

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Crispina’s Crimson’s
Creative Challenge #041. I chose pic #3.
This is where the image took me.

© Crispina Kemp

It’s summer here and the bugs are out. One bug I don’t mind stopping by for a visit is the adorable ladybug.

In my research, I learned that the ladybug, also known as ladybird, has a background rooted in European folklore and farming practices. The name is a shortened version of “Beetle of Our Lady” and is tied to European Catholic traditions, where the Virgin Mary was often depicted wearing a red cloak. Farmers saw the ladybug’s red and spotted appearance, especially the seven-spotted variety, as a connection to the Virgin Mary, with the spots representing her seven joys and sorrows.

Ladybugs are voracious predators of aphids and other small insects that can damage crops. Their appetite for these pests made them a welcome sight for farmers, who associated them with divine intervention and protection of their harvests.

While often called ladybugs, they are actually beetles. And they are not just red with black spots; their colors and patterns vary widely across different species. There are thousands of species of ladybugs worldwide. 

Beyond their agricultural importance, ladybugs are also seen as symbols of good luck in many cultures. The number of spots is sometimes used to predict the length of good luck or the time until a wish comes true. 

Now for a little music. I was certain there was a song by Peter, Paul & Mary that included the sad line “Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children are gone”. However, after all my searching, I came up empty. If anyone can find the song, please leave it in comments. Instead, I found a sweet little number guaranteed to attract bugs (and buggers) alike! 😎

NAR©2025

This is “Ladybugs” by Kaitlyn Kilian

Crimsons’ Creative Challenge #041

All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

35 thoughts on “Divine Intervention”

  3. This is such a good (and welcome) piece of research. If I might, I’ll add to it. In Norfolk and Suffolk (UK) we call it a Bishy Barnabee, named for an early Bishop (Barnaby) of East Anglia, though the full story on that I cannot say.

    And the rhyme completes with:

    All except Anne and she hid under a frying pan

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  4. We had a serious absence of ladybirds in our garden when we lived in the cottage so we collected some in a matchbox from one of our dog walks and they kept the bad bugs off our veg!
    There are hundreds here just now, the ground is covered with them, and I had six on my pillow cases drying outside on the line!
    I found this site which has a video clip and song towards the bottom of Ladybird, ladybird fly away home..
    https://nurseryrhymecentral.com/ladybird-ladybird-nursery-rhyme-lyrics-video-and-printable/

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  5. This reminded me of something I heard years ago: Ladybug, ladlybug, fly away home, your house is on fire and your children are burning… Somehow I don’t think those are the right words, but that’s the way I always heard it…

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    1. Thanks, John. If you’ll take a look at my last paragraph above, I mentioned recalling a song by Peter, Paul and Mary with those lyrics. I could not find it anywhere on YouTube but our friend Clive found it. Check out his comment for the video.

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  7. I think that “ladybug, ladybug, fly away home” was a song we sang as kids for jump-roping, or maybe hand-clapping games, like “Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack, All dressed in black, black, black, With silver buttons, buttons, buttons, All down her back, back, back…”

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  9. Sweet Ladybugs are indeed divine little critters, Nancy

    A Ladybug Flies in From Bensalem

    A scarlet caped ladybug
    Lands on my sleeve and gently shrugs
    Resting there, snug as a bug on a rug
    And honouring me with love and soft hugs

    Nature’s tiniest of goddesses
    Who fans us with butterfly kisses
    Quietly sharing good fortune and best wishes
    Then silently flittering away to the next Hibiscus

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    1. That’s it, exactly as I remembered! How did you find it? In YT I typed in the search bar ‘ladybug ladybug fly away home peter paul & mary” and all I got was their “Blowin’ In the Wind” and a whole lot of nursery songs. This is excellent! Thank you!

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      1. I went via Google, searched for the English version: ‘ladybird, ladybird.’ There was a link to this, so I went to YouTube and searched for the title ‘It’s Raining.’ More by luck than judgement, I think 🤣

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  13. I have a soft spot for Ladybugs, the cute little killers. I’m not an organic gardener, but I do try to avoid pesticides that might harm my small allies in arms. I found a few last week in my Butterfly bushes. Now, there is another species that resembles them: the Japanese Beetle. They are about the same size, speckled, and instead of spots, they have tiny Rising Sun emblems on their shells. Beware, they are the ones that bite and attempt to take over the entire garden. They are not polite like the helpful American Ladybugs. This was my lame attempt at a writing prompt.

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