Ladybug Cloud Arrives In Southland, Visible On Radar

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —The folks at the National Weather Service, San Diego, watched a dark green mass float across the radar, but there wasn't a storm in sight, according to reports. Instead, it was a swarm or "bloom" of ladybugs.

The radar caught the "large echo" and startled weather watchers in the Southland.

A casual observer would only see "specks flying by," meteorologist Joe Dandrea told the Los Angeles Times.

Dandrea verified the incident with the Wrightwood office in the San Bernardino Mountains.

First, there were Painted Lady butterflies, and now a ladybug bloom?

Though the ladybug bloom was approximately 80 miles by 80 miles, they "weren't just blobbed" together, but flying across the sky, the NWS reported.

According to Alexander Tardy of the NWS, they did not have a visual confirmation of the actual insect, or photos.

However side by side echoes show the variation between raindrops and the large concentration of the tiny beetles, thousands of feet overhead.

According to the NWS, the ladybugs flew at the height of about 7,000 feet.

The largest group of ladybugs measured about 10 miles wide, and according to the blobby mass, they are on their way toward the mountains and the warm desert, with the largest concentration around San Bernardino.

With warm summer days arriving, it is officially ladybug season. Baby bugs begin appearing when the temperature tops 65 degrees.

According to National Geographic, the ladybugs--in the beetle family--follow pheromone tracks left by previous generations. Also known as ladybird beetles, the critters feast on aphids and can eat up to5,000 insects in its lifetime, so this should be a good year for roses!

Have you seen the ladybugs land in your neighborhood? Share your ladybug pictures with Patch!