Ladybirds are among the cutest creepy crawlies: you find handbags in the shape of them, and some people think they bring you luck if you wish on one.
But even the loveliest things can get a bit much, and you might have noticed there being rather a lot of the cute red bugs around this year.
Either we’re all about to see something extremely fortune happen (Keir Starmer would be happy about this), or there’s something else going on.
The most striking illustration of just how many are about was at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Thursday, when play had to be stopped because players were too busy swatting away the swarming insects.
Commentators at the England vs India match initially thought they were flying ants, which were also seen around London last week.
But they were eventually revealed to be the dotty red bugs, which are feasting this year due to the warm weather.
Why are there so many ladybirds around this year?
Experts say it is down to to hot summer we’ve had so far.
We’re in our second heatwave in just a fortnight, with glorious sunshine tempting humans out to frolic in parks and gardens as well as the ladybirds.
Tim Coulson, professor of zoology and head of biology at the University of Oxford, said hotter weather means there is more for ladybirds to eat, so they are thriving.
‘Insects, including ladybirds and aphids, tend to speed up their lives in warm weather,’ he said.
So warm weather means more aphids because they can complete each generation faster.
‘Ladybirds eat aphids, and an abundance of aphids mean ladybirds have a lot to eat,’ he said.
And we shouldn’t be annoyed about seeing more of them around than usual: ‘People should learn to love the ladybirds. They are effective predators of aphids, which can be a major pest of many plant species.
‘Much in the way that wolves keep deer numbers in check in some parts of the world, ladybirds keep aphid numbers down.
‘A swarm of ladybirds in a cricket game, even against India, should remind people of the role that predators play in keeping the ecology of earth in a healthy state.’
Dr Peter Brown, associate professor in ecology and conservation at Anglia Ruskin University, said the last ‘boom year’ for ladybirds was during the hot summer of 1976, although there have been years in between when there has been a rise but the locations have been more isolated.
‘In 1976 there were a lot of seven-spot ladybirds on the beaches as they searched for food and people thought they were invading – they were not, as they are native to the UK,’ he said.
Dr Brown, who is an organiser of the UK Ladybird Survey, added that the increase in numbers should be seen as a positive.
With bees and other insects under threat from loss of biodiversity and the changing climate, it’s nice to see a rare example of a bumper number of bugs.
And toddlers everywhere will be happy to watch them beetle and buzz around, as long as their numbers last.
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