Label the Lady Bug!

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Here is a clue! The antenna is not shown in this picture so you can forget that for now! The abdomen and Wings are not shown either! Ok, so now you have to find five parts! Look for the: Head, eyes, leg, pronotum, and the elytra!

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Ladybug Anatomy

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There are eight parts to the ladybug anatomy, each with its own purpose. A ladybug is an insect, a beetle actually, and it has most of the same anatomical parts as every other insect, as well as a few parts that are distinctive to the ladybug. All ladybugs are less than inch long, oval or round shaped, and have six short legs. Ladybugs usually have very bright colors, like red or orange, and often have some sort of pattern on them, like spots. These colors and patterns are thought to warn predators of the ladybugs bad taste and poison. Sometimes, though, the ladybug will be a solid color with no pattern at all, and can be yellow, brown, or black. The eight body parts are the head, antenna, eyes, pronotum, thorax, elytra, wings, and legs.

Head The ladybugs head is round and thin and includes the ladybugs mouth, eyes, and antennae. Antenna The antenna is what helps a ladybug smell, taste, and feel its way around. Ladybugs dont see as well as they can smell and this is how they find the tiny bugs that they eat. Eyes A ladybug has two eyes but it doesnt see very well. Ladybugs can only see the difference between dark and light, as if everything was a black and white photo, but they cannot see colors at all.

Pronotum The pronotum is the part right behind the ladybugs flat head that sort of makes the head look round. The pronotum actually protects the ladybugs head and helps to hide it. Sometimes the pronotum will have spots on it, too.

Thorax and Abdomen The thorax and the abdomen, is the body section that the legs and wings are attached to, and the part that holds the ladybugs digestive system, the reproductive organs, and the stinky, poisonous gel.

Elytra Ladybug Wings are Hidden Under the ElytraLadybugs have a shell, or hard case, that protects their wings and also protects them from predators. The Elytra is also the part that shows the ladybugs colors and patterns to predators to warn them off. The Elytra is exactly the same on the right side as it is on the left, they are a mirror image, or symmetrical, to one another. Wings The wings are what help the ladybug fly. Ladybugs dont seem to have a very good sense of direction when they fly around, though. They seem almost clumsy. Perhaps this is because of the wings being stuck underneath the Elytra all the time. Every time the

wings are used, they have to carefully fold them back up to hide underneath the Elytra. Legs The six short little legs of a ladybug help it to walk, but they do more than that. The feet of a ladybug helps it smell, and when a predator captures a ladybug, the bad tasting and poisonous gel will ooze out of the legs, sometimes saving the ladybugs life. Wouldnt you spit that out? Our articles are free for you to copy and distribute. Please give http://www.ladybug-life-cycle.com credit for the article

Lady Bug Anatomy

Important facts about lady bugs

1. Lady bugs are a type of bug 2. Lady bugs are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. 3. Their average life span in the wild is 2 to 3 years. 4. Lady bugs are 0.3 to 0.4 inches; they are smaller than a paper clip! 5. Lady bugs look like half-circles, tiny, spotted, round or oval shaped. They have short legs and antennae. 6. Their bright red color and spots are supposed to make them unappealing to predators. 7. To protect themselves when another animal wants to eat them lady bugs play dead or secrete a sour tasting fluid from the joints of their legs. Why would they secrete a nasty tasting icky fluid? 8. There are over 5,000 different species of lady bugs. 9. Farmers love lady bugs because they eat plan-eating insects such as aphids. In doing so they help protect the crops.

Critical Thinking: Why are lady bug an important part of the ecosystem? Why do farmers like ladybugs? What do you think would happen if all lady bugs became extinct?

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