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THE (LADY)BIRDS!

Amazing moment swarm of hundreds of ‘STD-riddled’ ladybirds descended on woman’s home where they stayed for THREE DAYS

Margaret Yescombe, 35, filmed the moment hundreds of the red and black bugs began hitting the windows of her rural two-bedroom cottage as they sought shelter for winter

THIS is the moment a swarm of "STI riddled" ladybirds began to pelt a woman's countryside house before staying for three days.

Margaret Yescombe, 35, filmed the moment hundreds of the red and black bugs began hitting the windows of her rural two-bedroom cottage as they sought shelter for winter.

 The ladybirds swarmed outside a terrified woman's window and continued to hit for three days
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The ladybirds swarmed outside a terrified woman's window and continued to hit for three daysCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

She noticed the invasion at the weekend and managed to close her windows not long after the swarm appeared to prevent them from all crawling inside.

Margaret, who lives just outside of Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, said the three-day pelting was "like something out of Hitchcock's 'The Birds'".

Swarms of the insects, known as Harlequin Ladybirds, have been swooping in from Asia and North America across the UK and seeking hibernation spots in houses.

 Margaret Yescombe, 35, filmed the moment hundreds of the red and black bugs began hitting the windows
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Margaret Yescombe, 35, filmed the moment hundreds of the red and black bugs began hitting the windowsCredit: Masons News​
 The insects, known as Harlequin Ladybirds, have been swooping in from Asia and North America across the UK
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The insects, known as Harlequin Ladybirds, have been swooping in from Asia and North America across the UKCredit: Masons News

The foreign creepy-crawlies are said to pose a threat to the domestic species because they carry a sexually-transmitted disease, called Laboulbeniales fungal disease.

Margaret said: "I was lucky I noticed it was happening as they just came out of nowhere and started hitting the window and streaming in.

"It was a struggle to close the window as I didn't want to squash any of them and by then they were already all over the window frame.

"I'm glad it was a pretty bug and not a locust or something like that.

"They just carried on pelting into the window, it was relentless and they rained thick as snowflakes for two hours a day."

Sports presenter Gary Lineker tweeted recently about being ambushed by dozens of the insects.

Margaret lives in rural Cambridgeshire and believes the ladybirds came from nearby woodland as her house is the first building they hit once travelling over fields.

The insects began crawling up the wall of her home and tried to brush them into a tub before they spread throughout the house.

She said: "They'd already gathered in such numbers that they'd turned the white curtain frame red.

 Britain has been invaded by STD-ridden foreign ladybirds as they are said to be more aggressive and pose a danger to the native ladybird
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Britain has been invaded by STD-ridden foreign ladybirds as they are said to be more aggressive and pose a danger to the native ladybirdCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
 A close up of the foreign Harlequin ladybird laying eggs on a leaf
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A close up of the foreign Harlequin ladybird laying eggs on a leafCredit: Wessex News Agency

"It happened two days in a row where there was lots of them for two hours and then the third day there weren't as many," she added.

"I think they were snuggling up for the winter but I heard that when ladybirds hibernate they urinate which smells so I kicked them out.

"They are all different varieties as well, but I don't know if there was hundreds or thousands of them trying to get in.

"But I could hear them all flying into the window during the warmer parts of the day."

Margaret managed to collect the ladybirds in a tub and left them outside the front door so they could fly off.


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