Ladybugs (Ladybirds or Coccinellidae) are a widespread family of small beetles. Regardless of their name, they are not bugs nor birds. We’re not sure where their name comes from but it might come from "Beetle of Our Lady" in reference to the Virgin Mary. Many cultures consider them good luck, this is probably because they sometimes eat unwanted pests which helps preserve crops. In The Good The Bad the News This week it's complicated. Jennifer talks about the cocaine hippos from Colombia and how they have become the first animals recognized as “legal persons” in the U.S. (If you want to learn more about them listen to our episode all about Hippopotamus found at the link below). Then she talks Penis worms that lived in the depths of ancient seas more than 500 million years ago. Amber didn’t look into bad news because bad news is sad, but for her good news refugees in Cameroon have turned a desert camp into a thriving forest. Ladybugs are often brightly colored with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, heads and antennae.  However, they are not all red and some are not colorful at all. There are 6,000 ladybug species worldwide and almost 500 species in North America. Unfortunately, due to invasive species of ladybugs, such as the Harlequin ladybird (Asian lady beetle, Asian Ladybug) and the Seven-spotted ladybug, native North American ladybug species, such as the nine-spotted ladybug, are becoming displace and even extinct in some areas.  Listen now to learn about the good luck bug, one of nature's natural pests, and  also, one of nature's natural pest controls. Link to the episode about Hippos: https://betterthanhuman.buzzsprout.com/603916/4990118-i-want-a-hippopotamus-wait-never-mind-hippopotamus-are-terrifyingly-deadly Follow us on Twitter @betterthanhuma1 on Facebook @betterthanhumanpodcast on Instagram @betterthanhumanpodcast https://www.tiktok.com/@betterthanhumanpodcast or Email us at [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you, and we look forward to you joining our cult of weirdness! #betterthanhuman #cultofweirdnes