Brief Symbolic Meaning of the Ladybug

Symbolic meaning of the Ladybug:

Perhaps best known as an emblem of luck.  When a Ladybug lands on you, it is said your wish will come true.

Asian traditions hold to the belief that if caught and then released, the Ladybug will faithfully fly to your true love and whisper your name in his/her ear. Upon hearing the Ladybug’s message your true love will hurry his/her way to your side.

In Ireland, the Ladybug is said to be a symbol of protection.

Ancient farmers of the land have considered the Ladybug a good omen as she controls aphid populations.

As a love symbol, this insect totem has been the subject of many wive’s tales in which the number of spots on a Ladybug’s back is said to indicate the number of months to pass before the wish for love comes true.

Also see my page on symbolic meaning of ladybug tattoos here.

Or, some thoughts on Ladybug Messages & Wisdom here.

Other links of interest:

Symbolic Insect Meanings (a list)

Symbolic Beetle Meanings

59 Comments on “Brief Symbolic Meaning of the Ladybug”

  1. Hi today i was bring in my washing and i found about 50 ladybug on my clothes not on my partners or anyone elses just mine. what symbol could this mean i hope its not the months till i find love 🙁 and i hope its not childern dont think i could handle that many. but what else what was weird was when i took them off of my clothes some landed on me and he rest stayed by my front door. is there anyone who could shed some light on this???

  2. hi today i was sitting outside having a smoke when a ladybug landed on my leg it crawled upto my hand then flew off.
    can anyone tell me the true meaning of this ?

  3. earlier this week, I was looking at a magazine, keep hearing a tapping noise, not sure what it was. thought iw was coming from window outside. looked up at the light in ceiling and there it was a ladybug. I was trying to figure out where she came from.. SO did have a lot of dots on her back.. I finally cut her.. took her out to a balcony, intrigue how she get there and blew a kiss made my wish and let her go… Hopefully she is a BLESSING..

  4. Last night during my Thanksgiving dinner I was cutting up my 2yr old sons food and my ear began to tickle. I stuck my finger in to itch my ear finding that there was something sitting inside. I pulled it out and came to find that I had a ladybug inside of my ear. I put it into my hand and it began to crawl around. Not wanting to harm it, I put it in a nearby plant. I have not inclination as to how it got in there. What does this mean??????

  5. there are about 40 ladybugs that recently invaded my girlfriends room they stay in her room and go no where else is there some kind of meaning?

  6. I was just by our scanner at work when a lady bug crawled up the side of the cabinet and right beside me. Looking in amazement I asked where the heck did you come from? Not wanting to hurt her I gently put her on my paperwork and let her crawl off onto another cabinet where she wouldn’t get crushed. I could use some financial luck it would be nice to get out of debt.

  7. I really need to know why ladybugs come out of now were. I found one ladybug on the window seal of my kitchen, that night i bought a $3 dollar scartch off ticken and hit for $35 dollars. two days later i find i have not one but four ladybugs in my home. what do they mean.

  8. My last year in high school, I was walking out of the building at the end of the day and stopped to talk to a friend. As the two of us were standing there chatting I felt this tingling sensation all along my back and tried to ignore it until something was in my hair. I brushed at my hair and around 5-10 ladybugs flew off. I freaked about the tingling on my back and my friend told me to turn around and there were lady bugs all over my back. As I looked around I saw that the whol front of my school was covered in thousands and thousands and thousands of ladybugs…..I had dreamed of giant ladybugs the night before. I have no idea what this mean but ladybugs have freaked me out since…. I don’t know what this could mean.

  9. I often come across ladybugs and spot them very easily. Oddly enough its happened while in the middle of a football (soccer) game which is weird because I somehow notice the tiny thing amidst all the chaos going on. Does anybody mean what this can mean, if anything??

  10. i too have had my bedroom invaded by ladybugs, but they were all diffrent colors. Every day / night they would be there. what does this mean????

  11. I see ladybugs from time to time, usually when I need reassurance about some big worry. They’ve appeared in my car, on my computer monitor at work(for 2 or 3 days in a row!), and on my sister’s jacket(we were roomies at the time). If I ever got a tattoo it might be of a ladybug.

  12. I ve been reading your answers to the Ladybug questions? Its symbolc meaning and each countries meaning to the ladybug. I have a question as well. I have a 3 yr old daughter who is very happy and full of life and energy,her personality is should i say unique and beautiful.The day she was born some thing unusual happened in my delivery room and continued til we left. The ceiling in our room had hundreds of ladybugs and all the hosptital staff was amazed and astonished, nothing like that happened before ? Today when we take walks she always seems to find theladybugs or they seem to find her. She loves to hold ’em and just watch? She’sdrawn pictures of them so perfectly since the age of two, when we show them to friends and family they can only say…WOW.. even bringing them to tears. Her art ,talent is beyond her years.I Today a woman stopped me to ask me if she can tell me something…she said ” Your little girl has a beautiful spirit..” she smiled at her and walked away.. WOW..what can be of that? Can you give me some answers or whet to go to find it? The meaning of it? please respond asap..Thank you Jennifer

  13. @Jennifer.
    Sorry. I don’t do “ASAP” well.
    From your comment, it seems you’ve already deduced many answers for yourself already.
    Be still, meditate, go within, ask…these are profound tools for knowing the deeper meaning of things/events.
    Namaste

  14. I sleep on a loft bed, so my head is incredibly close to the ceiling. One morning, just a few days ago, I woke up pretty much face to face with a ladybug who was sleeping on my ceiling. I then released it outside, while the sun was rising. It was strange to find it sleeping there…

  15. I was driving to work one night and its about a 10 mile drive, a ladybug rode the whole way there on my window wipers. I called my mom and she said she had 2 that rode the whole way on hers the same day. Can anyone tell me what that means??

  16. For over 4 months now these ladybugs have been mysteriously appearing around me and my partner, never when we are separate. I will be looking at something (for example my cup), look away for a split second, look back and it will be on the rim staring at me. I have no idea where they are coming from but we will always be either inside (or once it happened on a bus) and no windows will be open. I always try to pick it up and lead it outside to safety but it doesn’t leave the house. Finally after trying to put it on a plant or something it will fly off my hand, go back and land on something in the room and when I go to grab it again I look where it dropped but it’s disappeared and nowhere to be found. I just really want to get an explanation for what could be going on. Any ideas anyone?

  17. WHat does this mean for the past 5 years lady bugs have followed me they either appear by the dozen in my room or window sill no matter where I live as I have moved 4 times since this began at first I was scared to death of them not so much anymore.SInce this all began I have had 2 kids and getting divorced they stopped appearing last year but now I am in a great relationship with someone new and tada here are the lady bugs again but not in my room they have appeared one on my back and one in superstore on my chest of my shirt both times with my boyfriend with me what does this mean????

  18. The other day I was at school and I found a small black lady bug with 1 red spot on each wing on me. I was wondering what that might mean.

  19. This is goods stuff. Today, while sitting in a lecture. A lady bug was on the arm of my chair. Then it was on my neck. Then I released it when it was over. Thanks for being a good resource. p.s. you should use disqus.com for your commenting section. I like it.

  20. This is amazing. Two days in a row, the same lady bug landed on my arm and hand. At the exact time and position as the day before. I find coincidences like that very appealing. Glad to know that I am not the only one it happens to. I think they are drawn to kindred spirits and those who are beautiful within.

  21. I got out of a yucky negative eight year long relationship almost a year ago. I have a daughter with the guy. I met someone who things just seem to flow like water with. I never thought it could be so easy and so positive. A couple days ago my daughters father was over and I walked out my front door and there was a dead lady bug. I just got home from my sweethearts house, after feeling totally magical with him and flying through the stars with him, when I got home, there was a live lady bug in the same area with no spots. So I talked to her for a min then she flew away<3

  22. I found one ladybug outside my car’s door. A few days later one flew into my car while I was driving on the freeway. The weirdest place I found one was on my salad. I looked at it and couldn’t believe it was there. I even went to get the salad bag to see if anymore were in there.

  23. I just had a baby girl. While my wife was pregnant in the hospital, almost due, I always looked out the window and on the window sil I saw a lady bug. Didnt think much of it so I let it go. For a week straight more and more lady bugs showed up at that window and as the number increased so did my wifes contractions. When my baby girl was born we went back into the room and they were all gone. I call my girl “ladybug” now 🙂

  24. I just arrived in Perth about 2 weeks ago.
    Ever since the second day I have had a ladybug live in my room. I grabbed it the other day thinking it would be dead by now but it is still alive and kicking just hanging on my curtain.
    I also had one land on me at the mall a couple of days ago trying to crawl into my sleeve. Then it fell in my friends bag and I set it free and it just flew away so nicely.
    Tomorrow i’m going to set my ladybug free ;(.

  25. Hi there the last couple weks iv had 3 or 4 lady bugs land on me. When i havnt scene a lady bug in yearz! What kould thz mean? If it even means nethng?

  26. Today the first day of the year I was at the beach in the morning and two ladybug’s landed on my pregnant belly. I am 21 weeks pregnant…what could this mean??

  27. I have a question I have a three bedroom house and only in my room will you find a bunch of lady bugs, they dont travel anywheres else just my room and they bite.

  28. Hi so today I went to see my boyfriend and he is going through some hard times. We have talked about having a baby and everytime we do whenever we go out side there are always at least 50 or so ladybugs at my house. Today the same subject was brought up .on my way home with in 5 min a ladybug landed on my windshield. What does this mean?

  29. I want to know more about the lady bugs, cos I simply love them. I wear everything that has a print of lady bug on, and that love came since I was little girl and in my room there were lots of lady bugs caming out on and on again.

  30. I live in Colorado where during the winter it’s very cold with lots of snow.. Today I was outside and saw a little Lady Bug on my house deck right next to some melted snow and was like ‘Oh my gosh!’ It was so cute but better yet I new it was a symbol of Luck and protection. I’m a quarter Irish but I don’t go to far with every little thing believing that I’m gonna be the luckiest girl one day. A lady bug in the middle of winter is just weird. I do believe in the luck of the Lady Bug and now I know it might be that God has wonderful intentions in my life!

  31. Hi, my husband & I had separated & my baby & I moved back in with my parents. I was trying to rent out my house one day I go inside this was in Nov.-Dec. and our bedroom was FULL of Ladybugs I had never seen sooooo many Ladybugs. Of course there were some all over the house but our bedroom was COVERED. What does that mean?

  32. Just today, I was out back sitting in my lawn chair. It’s bright and beautiful out. The wind blowing through the leaves of the trees as the sun beats down, glowing. Then I notice a ladybug had landed on my knee, so I put my finger next to her and she crawled onto it. She just sat there, wouldn’t fly, wouldn’t move. It was astonishing, I didn’t have a clue why she was visiting me. Five minutes had gone, she still sat by my side. I couldn’t believe, questions were unanswered. Then I made a wish, and released her. I looked away for a second, and she was gone. It was a beautiful magnificance, but I couldn’t put my finger on why?

    What does it all mean?

  33. Today i was watering my trees as i looked up i saw ssomething gold shining on the leaf of Tree. i pulled d branch down and it was a Gold ladybug! i have never seen a gold one it was beautiful! wondering does it have a special meaning?

  34. Hi there!
    My daughter has been having dreams that Ladybugs are crawling all over her. We have many ladybugs in our home, and have always had, so have never thought anything of it. What could it mean?

  35. HELLO, Yesterday I was driving my mom around I had my window down and a ladybug land on my arm, she crawled to my hands while i was driving I sworn she bit me i let it crawled on my hand for a while then she flew away and just earlier while i was watering the plants one flew on my hair i tried to grab her but she flew away =)

  36. I have had a day of animal symbols as i was walking (a pair of ravens, a magpie etc) i think thats to be expected on my journey, and i understood their meanings.
    I was not however expecting to come back to my flat and find a ladybird on the toilet seat (thanksfully i saw it before i sat down and squashed it!).
    I do wonder what that was saying to me, i released the ladybird and now lookg forward to unravelling its message.
    Thanks for the information on your sites, invaluable!

  37. Thank You Avia 🙂 I always find the answers I seek on your blogs, and how to seek it within myself as well. Love Ladybugs <3 mohrade

  38. During the week we layed my grandma to rest. As we were at the cemetery and the priest said “this concludes our services” a ladybug landed right over my heart. I got a little emotional as my husband saw it and smiled, because everyone knows I love ladybugs. I took it as a sign of her saying bye.

  39. Very interesting Tara, one landed on me today, I wonder what hidden message there is for me today.

  40. This afternoon I had a ladybug crawl up my shirt onto my neck to up behind my right ear. I flicked it, because I didn’t know what it was then seconds later I felt it again. I scratched my ear and there she was, a ladybug on my finger. She flee off onto the wall and I walked away. End of story. I thought at the moment, and I laughed telling co-worker, I think it was trying to talk to me. It turns out, maybe it really was!

  41. I always find lady bugs on top of my ceiling in my bedroom no one else. People say they’re good luck… Hope so.

  42. i been seeing them since 2weeks all over bedroom lately..walls and ceilinds on me. Then they left woke up today 2 crawling on my ceiling today.they say wishes calming and love and protection..will i made my wishes. And need my family to be always protected and need abundance of money luck..hope all come true..first i was creeped out seeing so many.but the knowing good i feel Blessed about it now..Special at that..knowing what they mean flocking to me..The Father sending a message to me..i being thought of..

  43. Hi !

    I live in Louisiana. So for the past week or so I’ve been see a crap ton of lady bugs they have all been in my room !

    I had seen about five today in my room before I went to sleep . I recently just got off of work at 9:15 pm and my boyfriend who is in Virginia sent me a picture . It was a lady bug in his room in the barracks !!

    I was wondering what kind of meaning this had ??

    Thank you !!

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