Informal survey: ladybug oddities?

I am taking part in our local university's study about Multicolored Asian 
Lady Beetles.  Anybody else in the country/world notice ladybugs acting odd 
in the fall?  They were released in the midwest several times in the past 
couple of decades to try to help control aphids in hardwood forests.  
Trouble is, they swarm and try to find places to hibernate.  Since they 
can't find cliffs as in their native habitat, they are infesting people's 
houses by the hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands here in the 
American midwest.  I know they have penetrated into central Indiana, but not 
yet into western New York (Buffalo area).

They also bite, and increasing numbers of people are having allergic 
reactions.

These look very similar to native American ladybugs; they are colored from 
dark to light orange, with varying numbers of black spots.

For more information, check out the Ohio State University IPM site at 
www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ipm/

I am not a researcher with this group, just a participant.



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