Ladybug-Like Insect Invasion! ZOMGWTF!
Immediately upon reading a BREAKING NEWS ALERT from CP24 (delivered to my email inbox with the headline "Swarms of ladybug-like insects descend on Toronto" and a first line that describes how said bugs are "taking over neighbourhoods throughout Toronto"), I just had to pop outside to see just how much carnage the critters were causing.
Despite CP24's alarmist and urgent tone, they're not exactly "taking over" anything. In the north Annex, there are a few here and there but not enough to form any clusters or create any reason for immediate concern. No poison-bombing, vacuuming, or running for the hills... yet.
Let me know if this one below causes any serious trouble or attempts to take anything over, and I'll be sure to turn him in to the authorities:
While they do look a lot like ladybugs, these red/orange/yellow spotted insects are not ladybugs. They're Asian Ladybird beetles (aka Harmonia axyridis) and they were introduced to the wild in North America decades ago - to curb booming aphid populations. They do bite humans, although very few people experience anything more than a minor irritation.
Lead photo by timescan.
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Comments (35)
They can get pretty terrible outside the city, but I've never seen more than a couple at a time living in and around downtown even when the ladybug/foreign invasive ladybug imitation insects infestations make rural 519ers want to cry.
They're far more numerous out in the country. A friend of mine tells me he had to shake off a few this morning, within a few seconds of stepping outside.
Many outside my office today, many many. Around 2:30 I looked out the window, and was like, WTF- invasion. I'd say there was a good 50 outside each window.
It was just on the CTV news when weatherman Tom Brown
talked about them. The reason for their proliferation
is the unusually warm weather.
I live in cambridge and there were 50-100 of them on my door this afternoon and getting in my home
In 2005 and 2006 in London, ON, they invaded the Western campus and entered dorm rooms. I recall living in Saugeen-Maitland Hall and they covered half my walls and windows. It was disgusting.
Jane, that's actually a ladybug invasion that happens every year in London. The whole 4 years I was at UWO, there were ridiculous swarms, they would get stuck inside the overhead ceiling covers and died inside there by the end of the year. You could even open the fire alarm cover and see a handful of them. Because of how grossed out I was by that, anytime I see ladybugs in my apartment now I kill them before they get a chance to breed.
The same thing happened about 8 years ago in Orangeville and surrounding area- and then the province had to release extra grasshoppers to take care of the beetles. Or something like that. Either way, invasion!!!!!
Saw a bunch of them crawling on office windows on 4th floor this morning in mississauga. thought it was weird but not a big deal.
One flew in my ear on the bus today -- right after getting the CP24 alert no less... After that, nothing. But there was temporary panic!
I work at Dufferin/Lawrence, and they were EVERYWHERE today. I didn't think anything of it, aside from they were everywhere, however nice to know someone pointing out that it actually is unusual ... it was quite weird...
... I also drove up to Bradford today, and noticed a couple, however may have have come up with th ecar with me (?)
Odd ...
Thousands today up in Richmond Hill outside the office and all over, including INSIDE! They also got into all the cars in the parking lot. What a mess.
I've noticed a lot on the Ryerson campus. They are usually flying or landing in mid air. Giving me the creepy crawlies!
"the province had to release extra grasshoppers"
wait wait wait. The province has a grasshopper cache!? Could we get them to release them for another reason? Like for our own enjoyment? or elaborate races?
I was reading mainstream news reports from Chicago, Connecticut... they're everywhere that got that period of cold weather recently.
These bugs are HORRIBLE for Niagara Wine Country!
They can't remove all of them from the grapes and end up getting crushed into the wine.
Some serious wine snobs claim they can taste the little lady bugs during certain "vintage years' when the bugs were most pesky!
EGAD!
Hahah okay, okay, maybe I didn't articulate my first comment very well. That said, GRASSHOPPER RACES! One of the candidates for mayor needs to write that into their platform.
Hope none of them crawl into the nuclear power plants. Can you imagine is someone bitten by a radioactive ladybug! Can you imagine some friendly neighbourhood ladybugman busy crawling around looking for aphids!
Yup. And back when I worked on a farm (long before current bug hysteria), I was stunned to see how many ladybugs are crawling around in the gain when it comes in from the harvester.
There's a lot more insect in our diet than we think.
So is anyone going to explain where these millions (billions?) of beatles were hiding in preparation for the invasion?
i found it inside my microwave last night when I was half way heating up my dinner.. so weird, don't know where it came from as I lived up on like 40th floor..
Leave em alone! they get rid of aphids so if there's a lot of these guys, then they ate alot of aphids this summer and are getting ready to hibernate.
I'd be interested to taste the ladybug wine though. rasins are mostly fruitfly poo and shedded larva skin so what's the diff? mmm!~
I love these little guys! I haven't seen any of them anywhere though. Do they not like the Fashion District?
I was eating lunch outside in Roncesvalles yesterday and had to go inside because of them. They were flying into our food and faces and all over. It was INSANE!
My friend in Toronto is alergic to the horrible stuff the asian lady birds secrete and is very sensitive to the smell. She is in agony right now because her place is full of them.
These are NOT the cute little ladybugs we remember! They bite! And they killed all the cute ones.
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