They look a lot like ladybugs, but they're really biting, invasive pests.
The multicolored Asian lady beetle — that's the common name — has been seen in unusually large numbers in several parts of the United States. The Washington Post reports that they've been swarming in large numbers in the Mid-Atlantic, and they've been spotted all across Michigan this fall.
While metro Detroiters have been reporting more and more of these bugs around outside and inside their homes in recent weeks, Michigan State University Entomologist Howard Russell says we shouldn't see too many outdoors with temperatures falling below 50 degrees.
In an interview with WWJ's Amber McDonald, Russell explained that lady beetles seek refuge indoors during the colder months.
And if any of them have already made it into your house, they're staying until spring... sometimes by the hundreds.
"They're home invaders," Russell said. "And what they're doing, they don't breed indoors, the don't feed, they don't lay eggs, they don't do anything like that. All they're doing is kind of passing the winter in a nice protected spot."
"And unfortunately," he said, "in some cases those protected spots are our homes."
Russell said the Asian lady beetle arrived the U.S. back in the 1970s, and Michigan around 20 years or so later.
The bugs are relatively harmless, he said, but can be a nuisance.
"These are pretty obnoxious lady beetles," Russell said. "They bite in the fall every year. Not to draw blood, but they have mandibles that will pinch us, and it can be quite annoying, and some may even say painful."
"And if you crush them they stink, and if you vacuum them up they may stink up your vacuum."
Russell said the bugs can be dealt with using spray, or by simply sweeping them up. Beetles might be prevented from entering homes by caulking or sealing cracks and crevices.
Learn more about these insects, including how to identify them, HERE.
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