submitted 1 year ago by Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net to c/earth@hexbear.net

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[-] Aryuproudomenowdaddy@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

Have a friend who has ladybug PTSD after she went to the beach during what I guess is ladybug mating season and said swarms of them landed on her and started biting.

[-] nat_turner_overdrive@hexbear.net 13 points 1 year ago

this is the origin story of a comic book hero or villain

[-] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

The Ladybug-Lady!

[-] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

'biting' like just walking trying to hold on (so more like pinching with them tiny feetsies?)?

[-] Aryuproudomenowdaddy@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago

I didn't really ask for details but I've been bit by ladybugs crawling on me before.

[-] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

Oh, TIL, never happened to me. They have such tiny chompers :)

Intriguingly, in a 2004 study, an entomologist placed 641 beetles in 11 different plastic containers, then cleaned and dried his hands before putting his palm into the containers to observe if the ladybugs bit him.

As a result, he discovered that 26% of the 641 insects bit him in hairless places. The interesting thing is that he wasn’t threatening ladybugs, meaning the bites weren’t self-protective. Ladybugs might have thought of human skin as some kind of food source. However, it’s essential that a much higher rate of female ladybug bites than males. So, do ladybugs bite more if they’re female? This topic probably requires further research.

https://www.learnaboutnature.com/insects/ladybug/do-ladybugs-bite-2/

... so it's the lady ladybugs ...