An 80-mile-wide mass of ladybugs has been detected flying over Southern California, according to the San Diego office of the National Weather Service, which tweeted radar footage showing a green “bloom” of insects.
The large echo showing up on SoCal radar this evening is not precipitation, but actually a cloud of lady bugs termed a "bloom" #CAwx pic.twitter.com/1C0rt0in6z
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) 5 июня 2019 г.
Meteorologist with NWS Joe Dandrea told the Los Angeles Times that even though the ladybug cloud is huge, it is not a concentrated mass; they are rather spread throughout the sky, flying at between 5,000 and 9,000 feet.
“I don’t think they’re dense like a cloud. The observer there said you could see little specks flying by”, Dandrea said.
Even though it appears to be the usual time of year for these beetles to migrate to higher elevations in search of food, the news has caused quite a stir on social media, with many suggesting – whether jokingly or not – that the “ladybug plague” is a harbinger of the Biblical doomsday:
[thumbs through the Old Testament furiously]
— Bradley Greenburg (@BGinCHI) 5 июня 2019 г.
Bugpocalypse!
— IamDarkPhoenix (@dropsumknowledg) 6 июня 2019 г.
The end is near.
— Ban Torture (@BanTorture) 6 июня 2019 г.
The seven plagues are hitting California. It’s starting
— 4thexplanition (@4thExplanition) 6 июня 2019 г.
I always thought that the apocalypse would include locust, has there been a revision?#fanfictionjesus pic.twitter.com/NoWyNpHp6z
— Super Dysfunctional (@SuperDysfunct) 6 июня 2019 г.
Unlike the locust plague, however, this polka-dot-invasion might become the “cutest apocalypse ever”:
cutest apocalypse ever pic.twitter.com/CtgUORgBXX
— Anne Frankly (@chittlins) 5 июня 2019 г.
First the Butterflies and now Ladybugs...This is the most friendly start to Armageddon ever!!!
— Bolts McGee (@MMcGee573) 6 июня 2019 г.
Next up: invasion of the fluffy kittens.
— Robert Neuhaus (@robertneuhaus) 6 июня 2019 г.
Most adorable end of times ever. We'll need to redo that whole locust thing, but this will be better.
— jerlanson (@jerlanson) 6 июня 2019 г.
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