Ladybugs are gathering in huge swarms (and it's not to bring you luck en masse)

Before hibernation, ladybugs gather in huge swarms in the mountains: this is the reason for this phenomenon and how it happens.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Perhaps the lucky ones have come across real ones swarms of ladybugs during their excursions: why does this happen phenomenon of aggregations between ladybugs?

Swarms of ladybugs, because they form

It is quite rare to find one, but perhaps the lucky ones have met one swarm of ladybugs during a winter hike.
A real show, even quite disturbing, in which thousands of ladybugs gather in huge piles.
However, ladybugs are usually solitary insects, so why does this phenomenon of aggregation occur?
According to scientists, this is a behavior that would have evolved to be able to mate and to cope with the supply of food, which is scarce during the winter.
During the summer, ladybugs feed on aphids, plant parasites, but in winter the aphids die from the cold and finding food for the ladybugs becomes very difficult.
Within these swarms, ladybugs move in a chaotic way and there is no hierarchy like there is among bees or ants.
It seems that in the midst of the chaos of aggregation, female ladybugs have more likely to find a mate and mate.

Chemistry allows for aggregation

When food becomes scarce, ladybugs soar towards the mountains and find themselves among themselves thanks to molecules that allow them to recognize each other and join.
Then they take refuge in the mountains, always guided by chemical stimuli: walking, the ladybugs leave behind them molecules that show them the way.
I chemical compounds left on the territory from previous aggregations, they take the new arrivals to the best wintering places. The ladybirds thus arrive one by one on the established place, to form aggregates of thousands of specimens.
Finally, the beetles break the swarm and enter a deep hibernation that can last up to three months. The ladybugs they take refuge underground from which they will gradually re-emerge with the summer.

Read also:
Legends, history and meaning of the lucky ladybug
10 plants and flowers to attract bees and ladybugs to the garden
Ladybugs, friends of organic farming

 

Tatiana Maselli