It's not yet July, but the scaremongering has already begun. Ever since 2004, when the first one appeared in Essex, summer has been accompanied by stories of marauding hordes - of ladybirds. "Hungry little invader threatens 1,000 species," ran one headline this week.

The harlequin ladybird was introduced into Europe from Asia as a natural pest-controller (it eats aphids). The trouble is that it has proved to be more efficient at this than native ladybirds, and has thrived: Britain will apparently be home to an estimated billion harlequins this year.

Unlike, say, cockroaches, ladybirds are "nice" bugs - pace ...

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