"Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and her name is Ann,
And she hid under the baking pan."
Now this little rhyme is well known and although it has various forms the ladybird itself had lots of different names including Lady cow as from Yorkshire, Charlotte Bronte, using the name Lady-clock and another ancient version as Dowdy cow may be from Yorkshire again. In Germany it is called a Mary bug and is a reference to Our Lady, and this is repeated in Sweden as the Virgin Mary's keyholder - though the rhyme must be challenging! In the USA the ladybird is known as a ladybug, but all have the same characteristic little rhyme much repeated by children and whose origins go back into history and folklore.
The ladybird is a loved insect by children because of their scarlet colour and black spots and it is equally loved by farmers and gardeners. The reference in the rhyme to "your house is on fire" is the burning of the rubbish after the crops has been harvested - the home of the ladybird. The gardener loves the ladybird as they eat aphids and of course aphids destroy crops and plants. Ladybirds are the most beneficial insects next to bees. They will only lay eggs if there is food to eat. We gardeners and farmers often kill their food with our pesticides, because aphids are considered a pest, hence no more ladybirds. We need to learn and again adjust the natural balance.
We are now encouraged as "green" gardeners, to not spray our plants, but allow aphids to feast on one plant which will inevitably die and soon there will be an abundance of ladybirds who in turn feast from the aphids, thus there is a return to true balance and harmony in the garden. So if you prefer, the ladybird restores peace and a harvest to both garden and field. It seems so simple and yet we have destroyed so much and failed to learn lessons of stewardship from insects.
So today let us think about our stewardship of God's world, how we care and look after the planet. How we all can be involved in simple ways like encouraging the ladybird in our gardens and countryside. How we do not have to become eco warriors and "green" kings and queens to look after the environment. Think how much pleasure a little red beetle or yellow or orange or in one form or another - the ladybird can give and how much they put into our environments. Today let us think on this!
