If you've seen a puzzling number of ladybugs around recently, you might like to know that these are not just regular ladybugs confused by the unseasonably warm weather recently. These are Asian lady beetles.
They are an invasive species, slightly larger than the local natives, ranging in colour from yellow to dark reddish orange. They can emit a foul-smelling odour and stain surfaces with a yellow secretion when disturbed, and they can bite hard enough to break human skin. So, not your regular cute, harmless ladybugs.
They were actually deliberately introduced to North America, to control aphids and other crop-eating insects, back in the 1970s, when people did daft things like that on a regular basis. Since then, they have become one of the most prevalent species in Canada.
In particular, you may see them in large numbers at this time of year, as they mass together in search of somewhere warm to ride out the winter, which is also why they may seem determined to get into our houses.
I'm not saying you should go out and squash as many as you can. But you might want to discourage them from taking up residence indoors.
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