The Ladybird Invasion

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This morning, since it was unseasonably warm and beautiful in Chicago, I sipped a cup of coffee by Lake Michigan. While I was there, I enjoyed the company of a pleasant-seeming ladybird that decided to join me. Imagine my surprise when, sighing gently over the pretty creature, I decided to read a little about it this evening and came across the following horrifying headline from the British newspaper the Daily Mail: Vile-smelling foreign ladybirds set to invade homes this winter!

Turns out that the ladybird species Harmonia axyridis, native to East Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China, was introduced into Britain and the United States in the early 20th century as a useful agricultural pest-killer, and has been wreaking havoc ever since. During the fall and winter, the tiny (and very cute, at least judging by the one that crawled onto my leg this morning) creatures swarm in huge numbers and invade homes in the UK and certain regions in North America. The ladybirds are just trying to get away from the cold, but apparently people whose homes they fly into don’t find that just cause for the visitations. The worst part, it seems, is that when alarmed they give off a substance scientists delightfully call “reflex blood,” which not only stinks to high heaven, but causes allergic reactions in some people when inhaled. Phew. I guess it’s not surprising the Mail calls them “mini-beasts.”

I’ve never heard of or seen a ladybird invasion, myself. Have you? If so, do tell. I’m fascinated.