Invasion of ladybugs! Why do these insects infected with STIs invade our homes? | Environment

& # 39; IThe invasion of the cannibal ladybugs carrying STIs wreaks havoc, "cries the Sun. Should we make fun of this sensationalism? Well, the red vertices are usually correct. Except for the damage.

There are many ladybugs about this fall and many are flying in our homes. Unlike our native mailbox-colored ladybugs, these creatures are often orange or yellow and have many, if any, stains.

These ladybugs with multiple hues are harlequins. The voracious appetite of this Asian species was deployed in the United States to control aphids in the 1980s. It quickly spread to Europe and arrived in Britain in 2004. The best way to distinguish it from Native species is to look for white marks behind the harlequin's head and its brown rather than black legs.

Such events now occur each fall, but their numbers are higher this year after the glorious summer of the UK, according to Professor Helen Roy of the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, ladybug specialist.

While native ladybugs survive the winter months by hiding in leaf litter on the outside, harlequin prefers our homes. He is attracted by the pale colors – the ceilings, for example – which probably remind him of the ancient rocky slopes.

But Roy exhorts us not to kill them. "It's all an animal show," she says. "They can be a nuisance if someone does not want hundreds of people in their bedroom, but it's not a human health problem and biodiversity concerns are much larger than the "human nuisance". " "invasive" is unstoppable. He is here to stay.

As to whether or not they actually have sexually transmitted infections, "Ladybugs have an unfortunate number of sexually transmitted diseases," says Roy, "but they only transmit them among themselves." Scientists are excited about this stuff. Look for the tiny yellow fruiting bodies on the back of a harlequin. "It's an incredible mushroom," says Roy.

These diseases are not transmitted to native ladybugs and evidence suggests that native species are fleeing predatory harlequins. The total impact of harlequin on invertebrate ecosystems is not yet known. In the meantime, the best thing to do is to help scientists register their harlequins via the iRecord app or the Ladybug Online Survey and try to live in peace alongside this new dynamic species.