Inside Texas' Hannah Wells' wild dugout superstition: Eating ladybugs - ESPN

OKLAHOMA CITY — The revelation that Texas' Hannah Wells eats ladybugs for good luck spurred all sorts of questions at the Women's College World Series earlier this week.

While the Longhorns played Tennessee on Monday, ESPN's Holly Rowe reported that sources in the Texas dugout had informed her that Wells, a freshman utility player, eats ladybugs for good luck.

Before boarding the departing bus outside Devon Field following the Longhorns' second win — which sent Texas to the championship series — Wells confirmed that report herself.

Wells said eating ladybugs «is a tradition» that dates back to when she was a kid growing up in Coahoma, Texas."

«Then everyone on my high school team did it,» she said.

It's certainly difficult to knock the superstition's potency at that level. Wells' Coahoma Bulldogettes squad won three consecutive Texas 3A state championships in her final three high school seasons.

But Wells has kept that tradition going at this Women's College World Series as well — and so far, eating ladybugs appears to be working well for her and the Longhorns.

She collected four hits Monday as the defending national champions beat the Vols twice to advance to the championship series against Texas Tech, including a two-run single off the wall in the fifth inning of the day's first game to expand her squad's lead.

Of course, while the superstition's success is difficult to dispute, questions about the tradition itself still abound: What nutritional value, if any, might they have? Had Wells perhaps tapped an overlooked potential natural protein source? Are there potential health risks associated with eating ladybugs?

To find answers, ESPN reached out to an entomologist for help in answering some (perhaps obvious) queries