DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — The Asian lady beetle can be mistaken for ladybugs with the similar color and dots they have on their shells.
- Coggin Heerinage the Interpretive Naturalist at Crossroads at Big Creek explains the differences between lady beetles and ladybugs.
- Joyce Cole a resident of Sturgeon Bay describes her encounter with the beetles.
- The Crossroads at Big Creek Nature Preserve trail in Sturgeon Bay.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Coggin Heerinage is an Interpretive Naturalist at Crossroads at Big Creek Nature Preserve and Learning Center in Sturgeon Bay. She says that it's common to confuse the insects.
"They don't look that different. They do have these little white dots behind their head so you can tell that they're the different ones if you look at them," Heerinage said.
She said this is usually around the time we see lady beetles around the area.
"We rarely see them before October here."
Some residents around Sturgeon Bay have also reported a surge in the beetles.
Joyce Cole says her back porch was covered in them just days ago.
"Sunday morning I decided I wanted to go out and read a book on my porch 'cause it was gorgeous and it was covered in the ladybug, like bugs," Cole said.
Heerinage says with our unusually warm weather it's hard to say how many we'll see this year.
"Whether this will be a good year or a bad year for them, our weather has been so different this year then any other year," Heeringa said.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, lady beetles start to seek winter shelter during sunny days following the season's first hard frost.
Heerinage said that when you find lady beetles inside it means they typically found their way into your home through small gaps.
Crossroads at Big Creek says that lady beetles don't bite but do leave rashes if you come in contact with one.
