# How did the ladybug survive and should I be concerned? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368 "2015-07-06T01:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/1 "2015-07-06T01:43:54Z")
My in-laws gave me some corn out of their garden about a week ago. It’s been sitting in my refrigerator since then. Today, I decided to cook it in the microwave. Since my fridge thermostat doesn’t work really well, there was ice on the corn. After 8 minutes in the microwave, the corn was done. When I opened the door, I noticed a ladybug sitting on the platter. At first I assumed that it was dead. In a few seconds, it started moving. I picked it up and carried it outside where it fell to the ground. I lost track of it after that. How does a ladybug survive a week of subfreezing temperatures and then 8 minutes in a microwave? I’ve seen enough superhero documentaries that I’m concerned that she might decide to seek revenge. ---
**Author:** ![Wallydraigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wallydraigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallydraigle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/2 "2015-07-06T01:59:27Z")
Ladybugs live in temperate climates and can survive periods below freezing. If you have an unheated garage or something and you get a few warm days in the winter when things start to thaw out it’s not unusual to find the place full of them crawling all over everything. My guess is when it started getting warm in the microwave it quickly became active enough to crawl to an area that didn’t get very hot and just chilled out there until you opened the door. This doesn’t surprise me at all. Ladybugs are pretty resilient. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/3 "2015-07-06T02:36:41Z")
It’s really hard to kill a bug with a microwave. They are simply too small to absorb microwave wavelengths very well. I once tried to kill a cricket by cooking it in a microwave, and just gave up after a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/4 "2015-07-06T03:09:06Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s really hard to kill a bug with a microwave. They are simply too small to absorb microwave wavelengths very well. I once tried to kill a cricket by cooking it in a microwave, and just gave up after a few minutes. And what, you just ate it raw? What are you, an animal in the jungle? ---
**Author:** ![lalaith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@lalaith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalaith)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/5 "2015-07-06T03:15:23Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > How does a ladybug survive a week of subfreezing temperatures and then 8 minutes in a microwave? I’ve seen enough superhero documentaries that I’m concerned that she might decide to seek revenge. Saw this on a show years ago. Water. Bugs don’t have much water in them. The microwave heats water which bugs don’t have. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/6 "2015-07-06T06:44:27Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I’ve seen enough superhero documentaries that I’m concerned that she might decide to seek revenge. I, for one, welcome our new ladybug overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/7 "2015-07-06T10:54:49Z")
> [@lalaith](#): > > The microwave heats water which bugs don’t have. No, thats a furfy… the microwave frequency is the best for water, but thats not to say its not good at warming other molecules , nor that other frequencies won’t warm water. But size and location may well be a factor… It felt the heat in the corn and shot out… it kept moving until it didn’t feel warm. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/8 "2015-07-06T14:19:00Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I, for one, welcome our new ladybug overlords. Agreed\*!\* (see user name) My sister used to kill wasps in the microwave. Only took a couple seconds. Guess maybe they have more moisture in them? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/9 "2015-07-06T14:28:59Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I, for one, welcome our new ladybug overlords. If I see a giant ladybug attacking one of our cities, I am going to know who to blame. **Nars Glinley**! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/10 "2015-07-06T14:47:42Z")
I’m sure there’s nothing to [worry about](http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=580)… [Nothing at all](http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=586)… ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/11 "2015-07-06T21:01:40Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Agreed\*!\* (see user name) > > My sister used to kill wasps in the microwave. Only took a couple seconds. Guess maybe they have more moisture in them? It has to do also with the “focus” of the microwaves (for lack of a more accurate term - collimation, maybe?) The energy is directed to the middle of the cavity, and not much goes in the edges and corners. That some units send the microwaves up through the bottom may factor in, also. Since insects tend to scuttle along the wall … If confined to the middle of the cavity floor, they die quick enough. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/12 "2015-07-06T21:19:43Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > No, thats a furfy… 😕 “furfy”? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/13 "2015-07-06T21:36:20Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > It has to do also with the “focus” of the microwaves (for lack of a more accurate term - collimation, maybe?) Eh? Microwave ovens tend to set up standing waves, which leads to hot spots spaced all across the microwave (not focused in the middle) at a distance that depends on the wavelength, or roughly about every 6 cm or so between hot spots (total wavelength is just a bit over 12 cm). This image should help you visualize it: [![](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/uploads/RTEmagicC_SpeedLight-microwave_standingwave_01.gif.gif) ](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/uploads/RTEmagicC_SpeedLight-microwave_standingwave_01.gif.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-ladybug-survive-and-should-i-be-concerned/724368/14 "2015-07-07T02:53:41Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 😕 “furfy”? > **[Furphy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furphy)** > > A furphy is Australian slang for an erroneous or improbable story that is claimed to be factual. Furphies are supposedly heard from reputable sources, sometimes secondhand or thirdhand, and widely believed until discounted. > In recent years, the word has been said to derive from water carts designed and made by a company established by John Furphy of J. Furphy & Sons of Shepparton, Victoria. The steel and cast iron tanks were first made in the 1880s and were used on farms and by stock agents. Ma...