As part of their Earth Day 2023 celebration, students at Chesterbrook Academy Preschool, North Wales, released 2,000 ladybugs to serve as natural pesticides in the community. Emily M. let the details of this story fly in the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch.

Students and faculty not only set the coccinellidae beetles free to do their work, they also wore red-black clothing in tribute the insects’ color.

According to National Geographic Kids, there are about 5,000 ladybug species worldwide. They come in various colors and patterns, but the most common in North America a shiny, black body with seven red spots.

The distinct coloring is meant to dissuade predators — birds, spiders, and dragonflies — from eating them.

The insects were originally native to Europe; they were purposefully brought to the U.S. to tamp down harmful aphid populations. The name ladybug was coined by European farmers to reflect that role. They routinely prayed to the Virgin Mary to keep invading pests from decimating crops.

Similar ladybug releases were held at the preschool’s locations in Limerick, Pottstown, and elsewhere in Montgomery County.

More on this event is at the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch.

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A ladybug unfolding its wings is a demonstration of biological engineering brilliance.