Brits have been left baffled after 'swarms' of ladybirds have been spotted flying outside and gathering on windows and walls this week, with some households claiming to have been invaded by hundreds of the tiny insects.

The beginning of this week has seen social media flooded with claims that ladybirds are "everywhere".

One user wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "I don't know what's going on but there's loads of ladybirds outside casually swarming around my house!"

While another said: "Ladybirds, everywhere! Is this the equivalent of flying ant day?"

However, experts reassure that there's no need to panic. The sudden surge in sightings can be explained by ladybirds' annual autumn migration as they seek shelter ahead of the colder months.

Professor Helen Roy at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and University of Exeter told the Manchester Evening News: "Winter is a tough time for ladybirds in Britain and so during the winter months they become dormant.

"Each species has a favoured place to spend the winter - some such as harlequin ladybirds enter buildings while 7-spot ladybirds tuck themselves under leaf litter.

"At this time of year they are moving around to find a good place to overwinter. On warm early October days many ladybirds will be seen flying around in search of a winter habitat."

The insects can be triggered to start flying in warm, sunny spells that we can see in early October, as they search for somewhere cosy to spend the winter, which is why so many are being spotted around the UK this week.

The ladybirds' instinct to find warm, sheltered places often leads them indoors.

Max Barclay, Senior Curator of Beetles at the Natural History Museum, said in a blog post: "There are a number of species of ladybirds that hibernate in big clusters. Ancestrally harlequin ladybirds would probably have hibernated in big clusters in caves, hollow trees and other sheltered places."

In absence of these, ladybirds may try to crawl into our homes through the small gaps along the edges of loose-fitting windows.

If ladybirds begin to enter your homes, experts say there's no need to panic, with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology advising in a blog post not to harm them.

"Perhaps gather them gently into a box and put them in an outbuilding if they are in the way but, otherwise, just leave them where they are if possible," it said in a blog post.

So while it may feel as though the UK's under a ladybird invasion this week, experts assure us it's simply a natural sign that autumn has arrived.