Coccinellidae wide variety of beetle species in other families as "ladybirds", i.e. coccinellids. Beetles are particularly prone to such misidentification if they are spotted in red, orange or yellow and black. Examples include the much larger scarabaeid grapevine beetles and spotted species of the Chrysomelidae, Melyridae and others. Conversely, laymen may fail to identify unmarked species of Coccinellidae as "ladybirds". Other beetles that have a defensive hemispherical shape, like that of the Coccinellidae (for example the Cassidinae), also are often taken for ladybirds. A common myth, totally unfounded, is that the number of spots on the insect's back indicates its age.
Common name or coinages; such names generally are difficult for laymen to learn, remember, and pronounce and so, in such books as field guides, biologists commonly publish lists of coined common names. Many examples of such common names simply are attempts to translate the Latinised name into English or some other vernacular. Such translation may be confusing in itself, or confusingly inaccurate, for example, "gratiosus" does not mean "gracile" and "gracilis" does not mean "graceful". The practice of coining common names has long been discouraged; de Candolle's "Laws of Botanical Nomenclature", 1868, the non-binding recommendations that form the basis of the modern