Thousands of dragonflies swarmed the unsuspecting beachgoers at Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island over the weekend.

This bizarre and terrifying event was caught on video and has left locals and visitors alike in shock.

On Saturday, visitors to the popular Rhode Island beach were caught off guard as a swarm of dragonflies suddenly appeared, seemingly emerging from the ocean.

Nicole Taylor, a beachgoer who captured the chaos on video, recounted her experience to Channel 3.

“One minute everything was calm. The next minute I saw the most dragonflies I’ve ever seen in my life. It lasted for like three minutes, and then they were gone. It was a very strange experience,” she said.

Paula Bellavance, who was celebrating her 50th birthday at the beach, shared her bewilderment to Eyewitness News.

“It was weird. It was like there was a couple, and then there was more and then it was just like they were coming from the ocean and we’re just trying to process wow what is going on and you look up and there’s thousands in the air and all around you,” said Bellavance.

Joanne Vandal of Enfield was also on the beach during the swarm. “It was like a black cloud and what started as a couple hundred, was thousands and thousands of them,” she said.

Joanne Vandal from Enfield described the swarm as a “black cloud” that transformed the serene beach atmosphere into an insect-infested frenzy.

“It was like a black cloud and what started as a couple hundred, was thousands and thousands of them,” Vandal told NBC Connecticut.

“The little kids were terrified. They were screaming. They had no idea what was going on. I guess it was scary — everyone else just took out their phones and was like ‘what was going on?’ because it was so unnatural,” she said.

“There was no sound. There was no hum and it’s interesting because I mentioned that to my friend, there was no buzz, there was no hum, there was no sound, it just happened,” she added.

Stephanie Martin, another beachgoer who shared her experience with NewsCenter 5, called it a “dragonfly apocalypse.”

“I was enjoying a nice day at Misquamicut State Beach until we endured a dragonfly apocalypse,” said Martin.

“We kind of looked to the left and there’s this black cloud and they were swarming from over the ocean and then right before you know it they were in front of you, beside you, they were just everywhere,” said Martin.

“And they would, like, hit you. They didn’t know where they were going. But they weren’t aggressive or anything like that.”

“It kind of felt like an eternity, but I would say it probably lasted between 2 and 4 minutes and then once they were gone, they didn’t come back for the rest of the day,” said Martin.

Experts weighed in on this bizarre phenomenon, attributing it to environmental factors rather than any supernatural occurrence.

Gale Ridge, an Associate Scientist at Connecticut’s Agricultural Experiment Station, told Eyewitness News that these dragonflies are likely green donna dragonflies migrating from Canada, possibly pushed ashore by strong winds.

WATCH:

NEW: Swarm of supersized dragonflies invade Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island.

Beachgoers were seen ducking for cover while others tried swatting them away as the swarm took over the beach.

The insects can travel in swarms of billions, so large that the swarms can show up on… pic.twitter.com/GoUj0ygA2G

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 29, 2024