Hundreds of dragonflies swarmed the unsuspecting beachgoers at Misquamicut Seaside in Westerly, Rhode Island over the weekend.
This weird and terrifying occasion was caught on video and has left locals and guests alike in shock.
On Saturday, guests to the favored Rhode Island seashore had been caught off guard as a swarm of dragonflies instantly appeared, seemingly rising from the ocean.
Nicole Taylor, a beachgoer who captured the chaos on video, recounted her expertise to Channel 3.
“One minute every part was calm. The following minute I noticed probably the most dragonflies I’ve ever seen in my life. It lasted for like three minutes, after which they had been gone. It was a really unusual expertise,” she stated.
Paula Bellavance, who was celebrating her fiftieth birthday on the seashore, shared her bewilderment to Eyewitness Information.
“It was bizarre. It was like there was a pair, after which there was extra after which it was identical to they had been coming from the ocean and we’re simply making an attempt to course of wow what’s going on and also you search for and there’s 1000’s within the air and throughout you,” stated Bellavance.
Joanne Vandal of Enfield was additionally on the seashore throughout the swarm. “It was like a black cloud and what began as a pair hundred, was 1000’s and 1000’s of them,” she stated.
Joanne Vandal from Enfield described the swarm as a “black cloud” that remodeled the serene seashore ambiance into an insect-infested frenzy.
“It was like a black cloud and what began as a pair hundred, was 1000’s and 1000’s of them,” Vandal advised NBC Connecticut.
“The little youngsters had been terrified. They had been screaming. That they had no thought what was happening. I suppose it was scary — everybody else simply took out their telephones and was like ‘what was happening?’ as a result of it was so unnatural,” she stated.
“There was no sound. There was no hum and it’s fascinating as a result of I discussed that to my good friend, there was no buzz, there was no hum, there was no sound, it simply occurred,” she added.
Stephanie Martin, one other beachgoer who shared her expertise with NewsCenter 5, referred to as it a “dragonfly apocalypse.”
“I used to be having fun with a pleasant day at Misquamicut State Seaside till we endured a dragonfly apocalypse,” stated Martin.
“We form of regarded to the left and there’s this black cloud they usually had been swarming from over the ocean after which proper earlier than you already know it they had been in entrance of you, beside you, they had been simply in every single place,” stated Martin.
“And they’d, like, hit you. They didn’t know the place they had been going. However they weren’t aggressive or something like that.”
“It form of felt like an eternity, however I might say it most likely lasted between 2 and 4 minutes after which as soon as they had been gone, they didn’t come again for the remainder of the day,” stated Martin.
Specialists weighed in on this weird phenomenon, attributing it to environmental components moderately than any supernatural prevalence.
Gale Ridge, an Affiliate Scientist at Connecticut’s Agricultural Experiment Station, advised Eyewitness Information that these dragonflies are seemingly inexperienced donna dragonflies migrating from Canada, probably pushed ashore by robust winds.
WATCH:
NEW: Swarm of supersized dragonflies invade Misquamicut Seaside in Rhode Island.
Beachgoers had been seen ducking for canopy whereas others tried swatting them away because the swarm took over the seashore.
The bugs can journey in swarms of billions, so giant that the swarms can present up on… pic.twitter.com/GoUj0ygA2G
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 29, 2024