"I'M bright red and I taste foul" is the message behind the colour and ladybird's spots.
To humans they might be pretty and small, the inspiration for nursery rhymes and children's clothing, but the redder the ladybird, the worse it tastes to the bird which tries to eat it, an international research team, including Dr John Endler from Deakin University has found.
"While ladybirds are a friend to the gardener, in that they prey on pests that attack plants such as aphids, they are also attractive to birds who use them as food source," Dr Endler said.
"As such they are known as a prey species and they use their spots and colour to warn off birds and other predators to find an easier meal.
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