As insects go, the ladybug (or ladybird) is one of the more beloved.
They’re not poisonous, they eat insects gardeners consider to be pests,
and their red bodies with black dots are pleasingly colorful. Even if
they infest your home, they pose more of an annoyance than a threat.
However seemingly benign, we can also see the ladybug as a kind of
insect action hero. While many insects can walk up and down walls, as
well as upside down on ceilings, the ladybug can do all these … even
while underwater. And, unlike spiders, ladybugs don’t need to spin webs
to do any of it. In recent years, scientists have been looking closely
at what gives the ladybug these extraordinary abilities in hopes of
finding ways not to improve upon nature, but instead to catch up with
it. The desire is to apply their findings to help develop new materials
and technologies useful to humans. [
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