To Bee or Not to Bee? Every LEGO Bee and Ladybug
LEGO doesn’t produce that many moulded insects, but when they find one they like, they tend to stick with it. Such is true of both bees and ladybirds – the subjects of today’s article. (I know, everyone except the Brits calls them ladybugs and the title even says ladybug. However, in keeping with our nerd credentials [pushes-glasses-up-nose]: they’re not bugs – they’re beetles - and I’m a Brit, so we’re sticking with ladybirds!)
So let’s head into the garden to talk about the (lady)birds and the bees that have joined the LEGO insectarium over the years.
Duplo
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2024 has seen the release of a new Duplo insect mould; a single-piece bee (105029pb01). Aside from the sheer cuteness of this buzzy new addition to the hive, it is remarkable for being the first Dupllo insect to be introduced since 1999! And beyond that, the last time they released any Duplo insects, one of them was also a bee.
The 1999 bee (31227pb01c01) appeared alongside a ladybird (31226pb02c01), a spider (31226pb01c01), and the butterfly (31227pb02c01) I talked about a few months ago.
These all featured in the Little Forest Friends theme which lasted from 1999 to 2000. I’m personally glad that the creepy little people went back to the forest, but as always YMMV (your mileage may vary); and you won’t be surprised to learn that my aversion doesn’t extend to their insect and mollusc (31229pb01c01) companions.
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These quirky creatures also stand out because they are the only moulded insects Duplo has *ever* produced. (To mine and BrickLiink’s knowledge anyhoo – do please let me know if there are others as I’d love to see them!)
Primo | Baby | Explore Being Me
In contrast, the interrelated themes of Primo, Baby and Explore Being Me are simply abuzz with bees and ladybirds. They are literally all over them. This catalogue spread gives you a flavour of some of the craziness going on in 1999.
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Catalogue image courtesy of Brickset
Primo rattles have the archetypal single large domed stud and equivalent anti-stud, and so can be incorporated into any Primo builds. But if you do so, you might miss seeing their happy, smiling faces.
In a long-ago article (on plushies), I wrote that I had discovered that there were multiple face designs for the ladybird rattle (31005pb05). I haven’t yet discovered multiple designs for the bee rattle (31005pb01) but I feel it’s entirely feasible that they are out there. Improvements to the Primo/Baby/Explore Being Me catalogue are being made all the time, and between that and those of us who collect these oddities, the joy of discovery continues.
These rattles appear in a total of 45 sets with much overlap, (bees, 21: ladybirds: 24).
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The rattles can also be inserted into the hard plastic teething ring chains designed to be attached to strollers or cribs.
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Beyond the rattles, ladybirds and bees appear as plushies in their own right, as well as a double-sided stroller plushie and a ladybird plush keyring.
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Sticking with the textile-based sets for a minute, 1999 also gave us this large playmat, designed to be attached to a crib with velcro ties. It has many tactile play features built in, and in addition to the crinkly-fabric ladybird, it is one of the sets that features both a bee and a ladybird rattle.
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Both ladybirds and bees also feature as stand-alone storage tubs; in fact there are at least two versions of each.
The trans-clear bodies of some are much thicker and harder plastic than others. In addition, they include a solid-colour base, which is permanently attached to the trans-clear body.
Those with softer and thinner trans-clear bodies (and no solid-colour base piece) appear identical to each other, except for the stickers on the bodies. And, as far as the catalogue information to date shows, the head pieces used in all of them are the same for each creature portrayed.
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There is one more different style of rattle—one that sadly was not a success for LEGO; it was deemed potentially dangerous and was in fact the subject of a full-scale product recall. Those things are not fun for anyone involved. As far as I can tell, it is no longer listed at all in the BrickLink catalogue (it used to only be reachable at a specific url but I can’t even trace that anymore), but it is included in Brickset’s catalogue and you can see it here.
Scala | Belville
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No bees in Scala or Belville, but we do get ladybirds (33052c). Coming on sprues (33052), they are naturally colour-matched to the butterflies – also discussed in my All a Flutter article – in red, yellow and white, and have the same pin-hole connection point.
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The spots on their carapaces are extremely faint and could easily be missed.
Minecraft
Admittedly, these Minecraft bees are not moulded creatures, but they are undeniably cute, and I have at least one AFOL friend who would be saddened if I didn’t include them.
So far Minecraft has given us three little bees – angry; passive; and passive-with side-stud.
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And then 2023 gave us the adorable Bee Cottage (21241-1).
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I’m not really into Minecraft, but the range of creatures-write-large sets they’ve done are tempting.
Super Mario
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Mario and Luigi get a look in too, with a Bee costume (71393-1), which turns them into Bee Mario/Luigi.
As with all power-ups this gives them extra powers. In this case they can:
fly for a while,
attract Flipbugs,
stick to Honeycomb Walls and
land on flowers and clouds.
System
Moving into LEGO System-proper, ladybird and bees appear more—and in more variety—than you might imagine. We get brick-built versions from Monthly Mini Model builds, printed tiles, Friends-style, BrickHeadz, printed tiles and minifigures.
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Printed Tiles
The first ladybird 1x1 round printed tile (98138pb177) was released in 2021 as an accessory for the Ladybird Girl (col21-4) collectible minifigure.
2023 saw the release of a second ladybird 1x1 round printed tile (98138pb393). This has smaller eyes and the more-correct 7 spots on its carapace to the 5 on the 2021 version.
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Seemingly we can’t have one without the other, as in the same year as the original ladybird tile, the LEGO Ideas set of Winnie the Pooh (21326-1) added a bee (98138pb186) to the 1x1 round printed tile hive as well.
The three prints have appeared in an impressive 54 sets since their inception.
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Minifigs and Minidolls
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There has only been one Ladybird minifigure to date and no minidolls. But there have been at least three bee figures. The DC Super Heroes character Bumblebee has been given LEGO form as both a minifigure (colsh14) sand as a minidoll (shg007).
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I would be remiss not to mention that we have also had two beekeeper minifigs: Minecraft beekeeper from 2020 (min091) and collectible minifigure Beekeeper (col380) from a year later.
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The Bumblebee girl must have been particularly popular because she has appeared as a trading card, a plushie and a keyring since her initial release.
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New and Old
Finishing up, it seems only fitting to look at the the alpha and the (current) omega.
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The oldest Ladybird set I could find is an anthropomorphised wooden pull-along ladybird. BrickLink has no data on its date, but someone with more knowledge than I will be able to tell at least a ballpark by its logo variant.
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And no catalogue would be(e) complete without mention of this summer’s release of a transformable Bumblebee (10338).
So let’s wave goodbye to all our bee and ladybird friends and bee good to one another! Till next time, Autobots.
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What is your favorite LEGO insect? Let us know in the comments.
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