onions dude

Why is no one taking about the guinea pig? How is it related?

And in Swedish, Nyckelpiga, which word for word translates to key-maid. The name comes from something like beeing connected to the Virgin Mary, keeper of the keys to heaven.

Well, that explains the buggalo -

Hang on a minute. That would indicate that ladybugs, or the divine mini-bovine, was likely named after the domestication of cows, since cows being an easy go to for naming something without name. Which has some interesting implications for the development of European languages. The indo-European group that moved west likely would have with them domesticated cows when they named the ladybug. Which means either it wasn't worth naming during the thousands of years of human language when humans were hunter gatherers, or the ladybugs were not native to the area the cow-domesticators came from. Or am I missing something?

The lady in ladybug is a reference to Mary. Before that, the middle English was, you guessed it, a reference to a cow, Godyscow. Also, in Polish, it's God's cow. Welsh gets short red cow. There's also a archaic French term that's God's cow.

The other animal that seems to show up is hen.

"God's little cow"

Cows, also made by God:

Ants cultivate aphids like we do cows, farming them for their secretions. Ladybugs eat aphids. Ants must see ladybugs as something like a bear that comes from the wild and devastates their livestock. To the ants, god’s little cow might be a red devil 🐞

So, cows eat aphids alive & ass-first, too?

It's mostly called "gărgăriță" in Romanian, but also - and I just found out thanks to this post - "vaca Domnului", which translates to... you've guessed it: God's cow

In Portuguese it's... Joaninha. No, it's not even close to God's Little Cow. It's a form of Joana (Yochanah, hebrew for God's Grace).

In my part of Argentina they're saint Anthony's little cow (vaquita de san Antonio)

Am Irish. Can confirm.

In Dutch it’s lieveheersbeestje, meaning ‘dear Lord’s little beast’

In French, coccinelle means literally nothing. But it is also called "bête à bon dieu" which can be translated to "the good god's beast" (good god as in god is a good guy).

Finnish it is, leppäkerttu, leppä (“blood”) (archaic) +‎ Kerttu, after the red-orange color.

In Hebrew: Old (as in rabbi) Moses' Cow

But why?

crazy. just call them key maidens like civilised people.