Being inundated with an insect "thingy"

sophie · Post by **sophie** » Thu 25 Jun 2015 9:59 am

We are being plagued by some thing that resembles a ladybird in shape and flying ability (the back splits into two and they fly away) The have a black and dark brown back with a stripe of tan down the centre and some tiny white spots. They don't have a hard outer shell casing. When you turn them over they do appear to have an articulated body. There are JCB and CAT machines digging up all of our road having laid water mains, now trenches are being dug up again to lay mains telephone lines!! Do you think perhaps these "lady bird" shaped thingies usually live underground. They are getting on our nerves!!!

Keithcaley · Post by **Keithcaley** » Thu 25 Jun 2015 10:04 am

Sophie, have a look here to see if you can find your mysterious bugs.

If it's not on that page, have a trawl through some of the others - it's a wonderful website!

BOERBOEL · Post by **BOERBOEL** » Thu 25 Jun 2015 11:18 am

We have also had them, as Sophie says very 'ladybird' shape. They arrived on Monday in swarms, we have tried to get rid of them (ant powder, hosing etc.) but to no avail, they look dead in the morning but once the sun gets on them they start to move around again so we are just hoping they stop appearing as suddenly as they arrived.

sophie · Post by **sophie** » Thu 25 Jun 2015 11:52 am

Well, colour wise they resemble RHYPAROCHROMOS VULGARUS and CORIZUS HYSCYAMI but shape is not round enough i.e. lady bird. We also have masses of "Shield Bugs" but I don't mind them because they love aphids. Just an aside, this seems to be a summer for the "largest in 10 years" i.e. spiders, praying mantis and cicadas" flippin enormous they are. Just hope we don't see the snake we had 3 years ago. That would have been a record breaker according to them in the know!! Comes from being on the edge of a ravine I'm told.