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If you’ve been out and about in the garden or park, recently, or just walking along the street, you may have noticed a proliferation of small red and black bugs crawling everywhere, but there is no need to be alarmed.

 

Contrary to what many people might think, these insects are not ladybirds. They are European firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus), known in Spanish as ‘zapateros’, and they are totally harmless.

 

If you look near tree trunks and grassy areas, you’ll see they’re always around (though not quite so round in appearance as ladybirds!), but why are there so many of them crawling all over the place in southeast Spain right now?

 

The answer, as you may already have guessed, lies in the weather.

 

Due to the heavy rains experienced by southern Spain in recent weeks, followed rapidly by this current very hot spell, there has been an explosion in the firebug population.

 

 

This seems to happen every year with some species or other. Whether it’s cochinilla (cochineal) or aphids crawling on plant leaves or mosquitoes buzzing in the air, the combination of a wet spring and a sudden rise in temperatures always leads to a boom in some insect population or other. This year, it just happens to be firebugs.

 

And we should be thankful for it.

 

Unlike cochineals or mosquitoes, firebugs are 100% harmless to people, pets and gardens. Although they can fly, mostly they just stick to the ground. They won’t bite or ruin your plants or anything like that, so there is no reason to panic.

 

If you find their presence disturbing, however, don’t worry. You don’t have to do anything or try to take any action to get rid of them as the infestation will more than likely cease after a couple of weeks, and there will once again be a normal number of firebugs around. Until then, you can just enjoy watching these fascinating creatures in their natural habitat!