Ruhnu, a small Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga, in the Baltic Sea, has been deluged by a rain of stink bugs, the Eesti Paevaleht newspaper said Tuesday.

The freakish shower occurred early Monday, and by morning downtown streets were teeming with red and brown bugs with green bellies diffusing an unpleasant smell.

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"In the lamplight, you could see bugs falling from the sky, shaking the leaves," the newspaper quoted a local woman as saying.

Although stink bugs are able to fly, they are unlikely to have made it to the island under their own power, and were probably swept there by strong winds.

Stink bugs, or shield bugs, produce a foul smelling liquid used as a means of defense.