Surely, you remember the troubles the LaReau Sisters have had with squirrels, and their recent encounters with wild turkeys. Now, a new threat is on the horizon, and we feel obligated to bring it to your attention.

Kara was going about her workday yesterday when she noticed a ladybug making its way across her living room window. Awww, cute, Kara thought, coaxing the little lady onto her finger and freeing it just outside her front door.

A few minutes later, Kara's cats began fidgeting. Two more ladybugs were in the room, crawling on the wall. Kara dispensed with these (humanely) as well.

Then, another appeared.

And another.

And another.

Within half an hour, no fewer than twelve ladybugs were captured and released. And in that time, Kara went from Awww, cute to Auuugh, annoying to Ewww, creepily Hitchcockian.

After Googling "ladybug invasion," Kara learned that the insects she'd been encountering were not typical ladybugs at all, but rather Asian Lady Beetles. They are usually more orange than red, and they have many more spots than a ladybug. Evidently, they come from Japan, and depending on who you Google, they were either purposefully released in several parts of the United States as a way of combating aphids and other pests (the lady beetle is more aggressive than your garden-variety ladybug), or accidently imported via cargo ships; either way, their population has obviously exploded. Now, they invade New England in late October-early November — hence their local name, the Halloween Lady Bug — and congregate on the southwest side of houses and other structures, where it's warmest and sunniest. And if you happen to be the owner of a less-than-airtight dwelling, you are in for a big surprise, because lady beetles are small enough to invite themselves in via the smallest crack or crevice, and they release a pheromone that invites their fellow lady beetles to the party.

While it might be unsettling to see so many of these critters around the house, please try to remove them gently, as they do not bite, sting, spread disease, infest food, or damage clothing or wood. Furthermore, squishing them makes it worse, as they smell and leave stains. (Kara did not learn this first-hand; she is, if anything, an insect pacifist, unless faced with a mosquito or one of those crawly silverfish.)

Have any of you been seeing an insurgence of lady beetles? Any comments or solutions?

We don't know about you, but for a while there, we were a little bit (okay, more than a little bit) addicted to celebrity gossip sites. At first, they seemed like a great form of brainless procrastination — now, we find them and their commenters a little bit (okay, more than a little bit) morally reprehensible, and mostly just plain mean. And while we're all for a little schadenfreude, really, we're just sick of giving some "celebrities" more attention than they deserve. We're looking at you, Paris — and while we're at it, you, too, Perez.

So while we can't say we procrastinate any less these days, we've diverted our attentions to more thoughtful and relatively-mature outlets. Like Salon. And Television Without Pity. And the almighty Jezebel.

Also, Kara is now addicted to this blog. Jenna says this is because Kara is a geek. Kara wondered if geek should be placed in quotes. Jenna said, "Case closed."

What nifty websites or blogs do you visit regularly?