A “cloud” that appeared on a weather radar over southern California has shocked meteorologists after it turned out to be a massive swarm of ladybirds.
The bug bloom, which was spotted over San Diego on Tuesday, was believed to be 80 miles wide and could easily be mistaken for a rain cloud.
On the ground, meteorologist Joe Dandrea told the LA Times that the swarm appeared more as “specks flying by” rather than a dense cloud.
The San Diego arm of the National Weather Service tweeted a gif of the critters showing up on the radar, writing: “The large echo showing up on SoCal radar this evening is not precipitation, but actually a cloud of lady bugs termed a ‘bloom’”.
According to the organisation, the ladybirds were spread throughout the sky flying between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, with the most concentrated group about 10 miles wide.
Though the bugs are known to migrate from the Sierra Nevada to valley areas, it was not immediately known what type of ladybird was causing the phenomenon.
The critters, while not known to show up often on weather radars, have previously been recorded en-masse in other areas of the world.
Millions of ladybirds were spotted piled on the ground in South Australia last year in what was believed to be a “mating aggregation” about four inches deep.
In October last year, Olympic athlete Kelly Sotherton shared a shocking video of a ladybird infestation amid reports of swarms of STI-ridden insects invading homes in the UK.
