LADYBIRDS carrying STDs which are invading people's homes to hibernate have arrived in Bolton.
Bunches of the foreign Harlequin ladybirds, which have flown over from on warm winds, have been spotted in homes in Bromley Cross gathering in the tops of windows and doorways.
The Harlequins come in a variety of colours and are bigger than the native varieties of ladybirds.
They pose a threat to native species because of their voracious appetites, they are known to eat smaller species of ladybirds and their eggs.
They are not harmful to humans, though there have been reports of them biting, and should move out of homes after winter.
The insects are drawn to pale-coloured surfaces and are hibernating indoors unlike their British cousins who choose the underside of leaves and branches to sleep through the winter.
Bunches of the bugs hibernating in a porch in Bromley Cross
Harlequins carry a fungal sexually transmitted disease which can only be contracted by other insects and also arachnids, it cannot be transferred to humans.
People have been sharing their videos and pictures of the bugs swarming in their homes on social media.
There seems to be a loveliness of ladybirds (ladybugs) in my window ☺️
— Emma Samms MBE (@EmmaSamms1) October 4, 2018
That is the term for a group of ladybirds, right? pic.twitter.com/O9NKhCR33j
Annie Harrison from Bolton also spotted the bugs, this time swarming on a wall in Moses Gate Country Park on Wednesday.
Have you spotted the invading ladybirds? Send a picture along with your name and where you found them to mary.naylor@nqnw.co.uk
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