Crossword Genius

Mrs Johnson's Beetle? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ladybird

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'beetle?' is the definition.
(I know that ladybird is a type of beetle)

'mrs johnson's' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'mrs' could be 'bird' and 'bird' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'lady' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ladybird that I've seen before include "Common insect" , "spotted crawler" , "Black-spotted red beetle" , "Spotted creature" , "Garden insect" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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