Texas freshman says eating ladybugs is a childhood tradition

A Texas softball player told reporters she eats ladybugs for good luck, a practice she said began in childhood and continued through high school. The freshman utility player confirmed the report before boarding the team bus outside Devon Field after Texas defeated Tennessee twice on Monday. Those wins advanced the defending national champions to the championship series against Texas Tech.

Performance and tradition She collected four hits in the doubleheader, including a two-run single in the fifth inning of the first game. The player said the habit started when she was growing up in Coahoma, Texas, and that teammates on her high school team later adopted it.

Expert assessment An entomologist contacted by ESPN said ladybugs offer little nutritional value due to their small size and bitter taste. Alicia Bray, a professor of biology at Central Connecticut State University, stated in an email that one ladybug provides less than one tenth of a calorie and that most animals avoid them because of defensive compounds that produce a foul flavor.