You can tell the age of a ladybird by counting the spots on his back.

The story behind the answer

False. A ladybird’s spots don’t reveal its age. The number and pattern are set when the adult emerges from its pupa and hardens; they don’t increase with birthdays. While older individuals may look duller or more worn, that’s wear and fading, not new spots.

Those spots are primarily warning signals (aposematism) advertising the ladybird’s bitter taste to predators. Different species have characteristic patterns—like the seven-spot ladybird, which has seven spots as an adult every time—while some species have many spots or none at all. Memory tip: spots = species, not birthdays. To estimate age, scientists look at wear, color fading, or seasonal timing, not spot counts.