The Asian lady beetle is considered a beneficial insect, though some Manitobans may not feel that way.

The beetles have found their way into some homes; they bite and can secrete a smelly substance. But they do eat aphids that can harm agricultural crops.

Jordan Bannerman, an instructor with the University of Manitoba's entomology department, says they got to Manitoba in the 1990s, having been brought to North America intentionally about a hundred years ago. He says it's hard to pin-down an exact reason we're seeing so many of them this year, but we've had an abundance of soybean aphids, which is a food source for them.

 

 

Bannerman says the species has a broad variety of appearances, but one characteristic used to identify them is the presence of a black W shape on their thorax. He's a little uneasy saying they bite, saying they "nip," which is an uncomfortable sensation.

"What probably is going on is they're probably almost tasting you. You know, insects use their mouth parts for detecting what's going on around them to some extent."

Bannerman says around this time of year they're looking for a nice, protective place to overwinter.

"What they're looking for is a place to basically go dormant."

Thankfully, Bannerman says the beetles that stay in your home over the winter likely won't survive; if you're seeing them inside in fall and then in spring again, it's likely a batch overwintering near your house, but not in it, according to Bannerman.

Both Bannerman and the City of Winnipeg say the Asian lady beetles pose no health risk to people, and say if you find them in your home, you can vaccuum them up; Bannerman says you can also release them using a cup and paper, but squishing them, he says, causes them to excrete that orange liquid, which can stain. To prevent them in the first place, Bannerman suggests finding where they're getting in and blocking it.

The city says it doesn't monitor the population of Asian Ladybird beetles, but says anecdotally their population appears to be normal.