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Swarms of Asian lady beetles have started to invade parts of Canada ahead of winter, the Toronto Star reported on November 10.

Video filmed by Melanie Prettie in the Chatham-Kent area in Ontario shows a Siberian elm tree covered with beetles from the “very bottom to the top,” she wrote in a caption.

“I identified those beetles as ladybugs originally, referring to our native species, but it seems like they were mostly the Asiatic lady beetle which is now considered an invasive species here,” Prettie told Storyful. “They are still very effective predator bugs for the garden.”

The influx of the species occurs as the weather turns cooler and the beetles venture to warmer areas during a process called “overwintering,” the Toronto Star reported.

Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center zoologist John Klymco told CBC that the beetles are known to bite and secrete an unpleasant liquid, but they are not dangerous.

Other infestations of Asian lady beetles were also reported in nearby Michigan as well as Washington, Virginia and Maryland. Credit: Melanie Prettie via Storyful