COLOURFUL INVASION IN A MEMORABLE SUMMER

From time to time, ladybird populations enjoy a real boom, and they will gather together in very large swarms. The most well-known instance of this was towards the end of the long, hot summer of 1976, when vast numbers of ladybirds seemed to appear out of nowhere, covering the surface of walls and fences in their tens of thousands. This was because the prolonged period of very hot, dry weather from May to August in that year had led to a major increase in the number of aphids, providing a ready-made supply of food for both ladybird larvae and the adult insects.

However, when aphid numbers began to fall, the ladybirds had to seek out alternative food supplies, hence their appearance in more unusual places. Some people who encountered these swarms reported having actually been bitten by the ladybirds, although these insects have such tiny jaws that any such bites would not have been particularly painful.