Ah! These are what I saw today on the south-facing wall of Neumann College's
Bachmann building in Aston, Pa, southwest of Philadelphia. I noticed all the
spots and so I didn't think they were the typical ladybug. Thanks for the info.
How interesting that they are seeking warmth all over the area today, but then,
it's been cloudy for several days.

Nice eclipse tonight, isn't it?

At 07:56 PM 10/27/2004, you wrote:
> From Iowa State University web site
>(http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/ladybeetles.html):
>----
>
>The "multicolored Asian lady beetle" (/Harmonia axyridis/), has become
>common throughout the United States and all of Iowa. It is well known
>for the annoying habit of accumulating on the sides of buildings and
>wandering indoors during the fall. Asian lady beetles are a beneficial
>biological control in trees during the summer, and in fields and gardens
>during the fall, but can be a severe household nuisance during late fall
>and winter. Wooded residential and industrial areas are especially prone
>to problems
>
>The origins of the Asian lady beetles are not clear, although it appears
>the current pest species was not purposefully released in the United
>States or in Iowa. Beetles that arrived by accident in ports such as New
>Orleans in the late 1980s have crawled and flown all by themselves to
>all corners of the country.
>----
>
>I don't remember them prior to about ten years ago, but they now
>congregate in my sunny front hall. American lady beetles do not usually
>come inside, and never in these numbers.
>
>--John McKitterick

--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards
and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods.
More than any other thing that pertains to the body
it partakes of the nature of the divine." --Plato