Overview

• Intense ladybird swarms that emptied Weston-super-Mare Beach have declined as temperatures begin to moderate.
• PestUK has assured that mass gatherings of ladybirds pose no threat to humans and typically last only a few days.
• Volunteers with the UK Ladybird Survey and other citizen science projects are mapping the scale and movements of this season’s beetle migration.
• A summer of alternating heat and rain fueled an aphid boom that supported one of the UK’s largest ladybird migrations since 1976.
• A TikTok video by Lauren Whitman on July 16 showing her family engulfed in ladybirds attracted over 1.7 million views and underscored the public’s fascination with the phenomenon.