A massive swarm of dragonflies descended on a Rhode Island beach, forcing terrified beachgoers to run for cover. Their day in the sun was reminiscent of the Biblical plague.
Beachgoers were heard screaming as a cloud of insects engulfed Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly Saturday afternoon.
Video footage shows a swarm of dragonflies buzzing across the beach, past dozens of anxious visitors, over towels, through parasols and past the bodies of beachgoers.
Children were heard screaming as they swatted away the insects with shovels and sand toes. Some sunbathers packed up and left, while others retreated and sought shelter in their cars.
Witnesses told how other visitors embraced the chaotic ‘invasion’, standing by and watching the insects fly by, and some even trying to ‘catch’ them.
A huge swarm of dragonflies descended on Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon
Helene Dombrowski, who filmed the grisly incident, estimates that “millions” of insects “flying very fast” swarmed over the beach around noon
Helene Dombrowski, who filmed the grisly incident, estimates there were “hundreds” of dragonflies on the beach when she arrived at around 9.30am on Saturday.
By noon, she claims, “millions” of insects had “flown very fast” toward the beach, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the capital, Providence.
“Holy f**k. Look at this, oh my God,” Dombrowski, 52, said as she captured footage of the “beautiful” incident. “Look at the swarm here. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
She laughed as the insects flew over her and her companions.
Although Dombrowski was somewhat impressed by the phenomenon, she remembers that other beachgoers seemed quite frightened by it.
“Some people were screaming while others were trying to catch them,” she told Storyful.
Some sunbathers packed up their belongings and left as the swarm flew in, while others hunkered down and watched the phenomenon.
A beachgoer points to a swarm of dragonflies flying over the beach on Saturday afternoon
Some beachgoers were heard screaming as a cloud of insects engulfed Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly on Saturday, while others laughed at the scene
Richard Sontag, one of the thousands of beachgoers affected by the swarm, called the incident an “invasion.”
Stephanie Martin said WCVB: ‘I was enjoying a beautiful day at Misquamicut State Beach until we were hit by a dragonfly apocalypse.’
Another witness called it an “astonishing” sight and said he was “stunned by the sheer number.”
“One of those natural phenomena you rarely get to see, so I was thrilled,” said Mark Stickney, 63, The Boston Globe.
Dombrowski, who said the massive swarm lasted only about five minutes, added: “I thought it was beautiful. I was very lucky to experience it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Maybe a few dozen dragonflies at a time, but never that many.”
A beachgoer films ‘millions’ of dragonflies swarming across the beach
Swarms of dragonflies usually occur in the summer months when the insects are breeding or after the smaller insects they feed on have been thrown into the air by human or weather conditions. WBUR reported.
Individual swarms can consist of billions of dragonflies and in some cases are so large that they are detected by radar systems.
Dragonflies feed on mosquitoes and various types of flies, but may also eat small mammals such as hummingbirds.
While a large swarm may look scary, experts say dragonflies pose no danger to humans.