Science

Massive Swarm of Ladybugs Appears on National Weather Service Radar

AMAZING

The huge bloom was picked up by NWS radar Tuesday evening in San Diego County.

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David McNew/Getty

A massive swarm of ladybugs was picked up by the National Weather Service’s radar Tuesday evening in San Diego County, the Los Angeles Times reports. The swarm—officially called a bloom—appeared at first glance to be about 80 miles by 80 miles, according to NWS meteorologist Joe Dandrea. However, the small spotted beetles were actually spread throughout the sky. “I don’t think they’re dense like a cloud,” said Dandrea, adding that the most concentrated mass was about 10 miles wide. “The observer there said you could see little specks flying by.” There are about 200 species of ladybugs native to California, according to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program. It wasn’t immediately clear what type of ladybugs were part of the bloom.

Read it at Los Angeles Times

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