The best reason yet to stay at home: Millions of bugs emerge from the sea and swarm over Yorkshire beach
- The insects appeared along the parts of beach at Cayton Bay, near Scarborough
- Sue Weatherill had been outside exercising when she noticed the bizarre scene
- Footage showed the insects covering large parts of the beach in their masses
A swarm of insects have descended upon a beach along the Yorkshire coast in their thousands.
The insects, which are speculated to be the European Chafer Beetle, mysteriously appeared along parts of the beach at Cayton Bay, near Scarborough, on Monday.
Sue Weatherill, who lives close to the site, had been doing her one hour of exercise along along the coast when she noticed what appeared to be ‘tiny little seed pods’.
However upon closer inspection, Ms Wetherwill discovered the unusual ‘pods’ were in fact beetles with wings.
The swarm of insect mysteriously appeared along parts of the beach at Cayton Bay, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire
The insects were seen covering large sections of the Yorkshire beach on Monday
She said: ‘I was out doing my hour exercise and I walked along the beach and could see what looked like tiny little seed pods.
‘It was unusual for that beach – I’ve never actually seen anything like that before but when you actually looked closer they were sort of like beetles and had wings.
‘I posted it when I got home and saw other people had seen similar things on that bay and up the coast. It seems to be the east coast.
‘I was more stunned realising they were living creatures. There were just masses and masses of them.
‘Usually you see seaweed left behind by the tide and from a distance that’s what it looks like and as you approach you think ‘what are these?’
‘It’s totally different to anything I’ve seen down there.’
While some have speculated the insects could be the Lochmaea suturalis, which are native to north-west Europe, a statement released by the Scarborough and Burniston Coastguard Rescue Team said the strange insects appeared to be the European Chafer Beetle.
Sue Weatherill noticed what appeared to be ‘tiny little seed pod’ before realising the insects were in fact beetles with wings
On Tuesday, the Scarborough and Burniston Coastguard Rescue Team said large numbers of European Chafer Beetles had washed up on a few beaches around Scarborough
On Tuesday, the Scarborough and Burniston Coastguard Rescue Team said: ‘Yesterday afternoon whilst the team were on a coastal patrol, a member of the public alerted them to something strange on the beach.
‘It appears that a large number of European Chafer Beetles have washed up on a few beaches around Scarborough.
‘The Coastguard Counter Pollution team have been informed so the source can be investigated.’
Adult chafer beetles, which belong to the Scarabaeidae family, are usually a light reddish-brown colour and typically 13-14mm long.
The beetles, which were formerly only found in Europe but are now also found in parts of North America too, typically feed on the foliage of plants.