Soapworts and Ladybugs – Fun Facts

Soapworts and a ladybug, photo by mzrosie

A ladybug caught my eye.  It was on a cluster of pretty white flowers, which I didn’t know at the time, were called soapworts.

Fun Facts about Soapworts – Soapworts are sweetly scented flowers, which are also commonly as known as bouncing-bet, crow soap, wild sweet William, and soapweed. The scientific name of this plant is Saponaria, which is derived from the Latin word sapo meaning “soap.”  The leaves of this plant were used long ago to make a cleaning lather.

Soapwort and a ladybug, photo by mzrosie

Fun Facts about Ladybugs – Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or, in Europe, ladybird beetles.  Ladybugs are farmers’ and gardeners’ best friends because they are voracious eaters of plant-eating insects including aphids.

Ladybugs have three ways to defend themselves against predators.  Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste.  And, in a critical situation, they can play dead.  So, who would want to eat a dead foul-tasting bug that could be poisonous (they’re not).

 

Note to Humans:  Ladybugs are not poisonous to humans but, please refrain from eating them.