78°F
weather icon Mostly Cloudy

Massive ladybug swarm over California shows up on radar

LOS ANGELES — A huge blob that appeared on the National Weather Service’s radar wasn’t a rain cloud, but a massive swarm of ladybugs over Southern California.

Meteorologist Joe Dandrea says the array of bugs appeared to be about 80 miles wide as it flew over San Diego Tuesday.

But Dandrea tells the Los Angeles Times that the ladybugs are actually spread throughout the sky, flying at between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, with the most concentrated group about 10 miles wide.

It wasn’t immediately known what type of ladybug was causing the phenomenon.

The Times says one species, adult convergent lady beetles, mate and migrate from the Sierra Nevada to valley areas where they eat aphids and lay eggs.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Hulk Hogan, icon in professional wrestling, dies at 71

Hulk Hogan won a world championship in Las Vegas in 1993 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

MORE STORIES