Thousands of ladybirds blow into Christchurch beach
<p>"Thousands upon thousands" of ladybirds scattered along New Brighton beach on Thursday morning are a mystery of mother nature.</p>
<p>An ecology expert said it was the first time he had heard of anything like it in New Zealand.</p>
<p>South New Brighton's Jolene Hunter said she discovered the ladybirds lined "as far as I could see" amongst sticks along New Brighton beach's high tide line.</p>
<p>"They're all dead now. I walk my dog on the beach, I saw them yesterday too.</p>
<p>"It's stretched along that same high tide mark.</p>
<p>"There were thousands, possibly millions.</p>
<p>"We walked 20 minutes up and back again and they were all along there," Hunter said.</p>
<p>Lincoln University Professor of Ecology Steve Wratten had not heard of anything like it happening in New Zealand before.</p>
<p>The bugs, he said, were Eleven-spotted ladybirds common in agriculture and gardens.</p>
<p>"They've been blown out to sea by the northwesterly and they've been brought back in by the tide.</p>
<p>Written by Nick Truebridge. First appeared on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a></strong></span>. </p>
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