Not your usual sort of ladybug

[UpInArms]

http://www.journalstar.com/local.php?story_id=88324

What's not to like about a tiny bug that's bright red with black dots and makes your skin tingle with its itty-bitty legs?

That's fine if the bug is your garden-variety type of ladybug. But if it's a multicolored Asian lady beetle, you might want to think twice about picking it up and playing with it.

They bite.

"They're like little cartoon characters. You don't think they will get you, but they will give you a pinch," said Soni Cochran, an extension associate at the Lancaster County Extension Service.

...more...

I realize that this item is not political - but I have been beset by these dreadful things - I couldn't figure out why in the world the ladybugs were biting me!

So here is the answer - they are Asian multicolored ladybugs. I will add that they are vicious and nasty.

[laylah]

1. I, too, am infested

here in my little "nest" in the QC area.....and you are right, they ARE vicious! I am the type to "catch and release" spiders; however, these little critters I am chasing, non-stop, with my vacuum. My walls, inside and out, on the e,s,and w sides, are swarming with them! I have cats so I fear using any bug spray and soap water doesn't work!

You know it is REALLY bad when one (as in human :silly:) is putting on their make-up and gets slammed in the side of the head with one of these......yuck! :puke:

jenn

[BiggJawn]

2. They slam into the side of your head....

Then "CHOMP!!!!"

Awful bugs. No "natural" predators here, so they over-run everything. I have to wear goggles when i ride, and I manage to ingest a few along the way...

[oneighty]

4. They

have much flavor do they? Do they leave spotted spots on your smiling pearly whites?

180

[ret5hd]

13. so they do have a natural predator...(nt)

[Maru]

6. Here in NJ too - and with

those other black & red bugs, about 7 mm long. They're swarming all over the sunny sides of the house and getting in through cracks in the siding.

There's a bug spray made out of a plant toxin that's safe for pets. I used it last year and it worked great, but I can't remember the name!

[bahrbearian]

7. O.K. Where is QC ?

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. OH - we had them up here in Northern Ontario - BAD in 2002

I'm a dedicated Camper

And late last summer (2002) they were so bad I came home early

Blackflies, Mosquitos, Deerflys, Horseflys got NUTHIN' on them little buggers !!

[dbt]

5. Just another message from Mother Earth

I think she's seriously pissed off at one particular species.

:freak:
dbt

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. We all know the Earth would be better off without us Hoomans

Hmmmmm

Could GeeDubya be working for MommaNature in a a roundabout way ?

It would only take MumNature a coupla Centuries to reclaim/grow over all the stuff we have built/destroyed

( Well - that depends how much radiation we leave behind)

(sigh)

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. Will bleed if alarmed

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/harmonia.html

<snip>When using a broom and dustpan, gently collect the beetles to avoid alarming them. If alarmed, they may discharge a yellow fluid that can stain walls, paint, and fabrics, and that has an unpleasant odor. All lady beetles do this reflex bleeding when alarmed. The blood comes out of the leg joints.

[Mari333]

10. all over here tooo last year and this year

thousands on the house in the house on screens everywhere...didnt bother me, I dont care. I let spiders build their webs in my windows, (it is a nature preserve after all) , and I even name the spiders. My dad always said spiders are good bugs, and mine are.
By mid winter, ladybugs or asian beetles are pretty much gone, so I leave them alone and they leave me alone.

[FlaGranny]

11. My hubby never minded spiders

until a brown recluse got him on the leg and he spent 4 days in the hospital because of it. Now he doesn't like spiders at all.

[MGKrebs]

12. I think I have those little guys too.

Haven't been bitten, but they were all over one of the rooms in the house. I found a crack around one of the window frames they were coming in through. had to get out the caulk.

I am Caulk Man.