天道虫

Compound of 天道 (tentō, “celestial path; the sun”) +‎ 虫 (mushi, “bug”).

There are various theories for the derivation. These include:

• So called because the insects fly upward towards the sun.
• So called for their habit of landing on branches and orienting upwards, towards the sky.

Derived species names are generally suffixed with -tentō.

• (Tokyo) てんとーむし [tèńtóꜜò mùshì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞nto̞ː mɯ̟ɕi]

天(てん)道(とう)虫(むし) or 天道虫(テントウムシ) • (tentō mushi) ^{←てんたうむし (tentaumusi) or テンタウムシ (tentaumusi)?}

1. a ladybird (UK), ladybug (US), lady beetle (any beetle of family Coccinellidae)

   Hypernym: 甲虫 (kōchū)

2. synonym of 並瓢虫 (namitentō): an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as テントウムシ (tentōmushi).

• Etymology at Nihonjiten (in Japanese)