Ridiculous amount of ladybugs invade mountain community

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SOMEWHERE IN JEFFERSON COUNTY - Let's just start with the fact that I have a bit of a phobia of insects with wings. Moths are the worst. They're just too darn unpredictable. They tend to like flying near my mouth.

But ladybugs? Really? They're harmless, I kept telling myself. They're actually really good for plants. They like aphids. Who likes aphids anyway?

So I assured my mind that it had nothing to worry about just after I agreed to go with 9NEWS Photojournalist Eric Kehe to a secret location in Jefferson County to do a story about a crazy number of ladybugs.

I mean, they're just ladybugs. Every 4-year-old has a fascination with the darn things. They're that cute.

So up the road we went. As luck would have it, the first person we met was a 4-year-old. Jack showed us about a few dozen ladybugs who were taking up residence behind a drain spout to his parent's house.

I thought that was a lot, but I certainly didn't think it was "crazy."

So up the road we continued to go. By the time we reached the house near the top of the secret mountain, my heart started beating a tad faster.

There were dozens of them floating in the air. And then we saw the back of the house. That very well could have been the moment that I lost my you know what.

They were covering the man's house. There were thousands of them. They landed on my shirt. They crawled up my pants. A couple were clearly squished in the bottom of my shoe. And yes, one even flew into my mouth.

Ladybugs? Really?

At that point, I think I decided that Eric had plenty of video with which to compile our story for 9NEWS at 10.

That's when a resident named Jonathan told us that we hadn't seen anything yet. (We agreed to only use people's first names for this story so they wouldn't get another invasion - of sightseers.)

Reluctantly, I agreed to hike about a half mile to the spot where I believe the first sign of the apocalypse is now likely to unfold.

If that man's house had thousands of ladybugs on it, the tree that was now in front of my eyes held maybe a million. From a distance it looked like a tree with red bark.

It's just that it wasn't red bark.

I felt a few crawl up my leg. A few dropped into the back of my shirt. A few dozen decided to take up residence in my hair. And, yes, another one tried to fly into my mouth. A last second decision by me to duck my head was the only thing that kept me from having to worry about the caloric intake of a bug.

That's about when I realized that, in the end, they were just ladybugs.

The same kind of ladybugs I used to play with when I was a 4-year-old. Shortly after that I simply decided to ingest the amazing scene playing out in front of my eyes, without having to worry about ingesting the bugs themselves.

It was truly a remarkable moment.

As for those pesky moths, yep, I still hate 'em. And I'm pretty sure they don't taste like chicken either.

The truth about ladybugs

If you think you have seen more ladybugs that normal this year, you aren't imagining things.

There clearly are more ladybugs in and along the Front Range right now, so says Jenifer Doane. She works at the Butterfly Pavilion.

Doane says our wet spring and early summer has helped lead to the increased numbers. The additional moisture, she says, has led to more aphids. Ladybugs love to eat aphids, and because their food supply is plentiful, their numbers have increased by around 15 to 20 percent.

Should you happen to stumble upon a large number of ladybugs residing in one, particular area, Doane says, then simply realize that it's a classic, mating behavior taking place with the little beetles right now.

When they're done with their business, they'll likely disperse into the surrounding areas.