A Bug’s Life

‘HAVE you seen any ladybirds – or ladybugs, as some of you will know them – acting suspiciously?

‘It was the spotty one, officer. I never forget a face’

Maybe you came across a group of them hanging round on street corners and abusing old women? Maybe you saw one loitering around the children’s play area in the local park.

Or perhaps you caught sight of a couple casing the bank on the High Street?

If you have, we ask that you apprehend the suspicious insect (or insects) and send them to Dr Michael Majerus at the Department Of Genetics at Cambridge University.

Dr Majerus, who makes his appeal through the pages of this morning’s Telegraph, adds that the bugs in question are large (about 6-8mm long), of Asian appearance and have a distinctive W or M mark behind their heads.

And they are threatening to wipe out our indigenous ladybirds, including our beloved seven-spot and two-spot species. It may even be too late…

‘My opinion last week was that if we had caught the influx early enough, we might have been able to eradicate it,’ the good doctor tells Telegraph readers.

‘Now, I think there is no chance at all.’

There’s always a chance, Dr Majerus. Especially when you have a small army of Telegraph readers on the case…’

Posted: 14th, October 2004 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink