Meet my little friends

[PauL]

Please say hello to some of my little lady bug friends. This is probably only about 1/3 of them, the rest are bunched up between the roof of the shed and on top of the fence where I couldnt get pics. All I have to say is they are damn annoying in the summer when they all fly around.

Those are all different part of the fence + 1 shed post

And yes, I know I suck at taking pictures

[The boy 4rm oz]

HOLY CRAP!!! That's the most lady bugs I have ever seen. You sir get +rep for your 'interesting' situation lol.

[Airbozo]

Jeez! Send some of those buggers down the street to my house. I have some tasty aphids that need clearing out.

I can tell we are close to each other by the trees in your yard.

Nice shots!

[diluzio91]

Say hello to my little friend!

[billygoat333]

HOLY CRAP!!! That's the most lady bugs I have ever seen. You sir get +rep for your 'interesting' situation lol.

this. wow!

[PauL]

lol. This is there normal winter routine. Come summer, its a swarm of them flying around.

A good portion of them end up in my neighbors pool filter in the summer. Sometimes half the filter basket is filled with dead lady bugs and the smell is quite interesting.

[Airbozo]

Say hello to my little friend!

No no no. Save the deadly chemicals for the bad bugs. Ladybugs are beneficial to gardens and rose bushes.

Paul, I wish I had that swarm in my gardens...

[NightrainSrt4]

Those aren't lady bugs.

They are Asian Lady Beetles. Lady bugs don't swarm. They are showing up in huge numbers like that because they are looking for a place to hibernate for the winter. The smell you are smelling when they bunch up in your neighbors pool is from a secretion they make to deter predators. They probably freaked out when they got stuck in the filter and secreted it, and when a ton of them do that, you can smell them.

But they still eat aphids and such, so for some it can be beneficial to have around.

[Airbozo]

Those aren't lady bugs.

They are Asian Lady Beetles. Lady bugs don't swarm. They are showing up in huge numbers like that because they are looking for a place to hibernate for the winter. The smell you are smelling when they bunch up in your neighbors pool is from a secretion they make to deter predators. They probably freaked out when they got stuck in the filter and secreted it, and when a ton of them do that, you can smell them.

But they still eat aphids and such, so for some it can be beneficial to have around.

Nice!


Thanks for the info. Are you a closet entomologist?

[Mark_Hardware]

I used to get that at the house when I was younger... Every year, like clockwork, one part of our house would turn into a moving red and black mass... After a couple weeks or so they would disappear. See ya again next year, same time same place. Never did figure out wth caused it. Harmless, just a temporary nuisance.
Then was in rural country Illinois, so it was always some "temporary nuisance" lol.