Insects · Coleoptera · Coccinellidae

Harlequin Ladybird

Harmonia axyridis

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The multicoloured Asian lady beetle is a beetle of the family Coccinellidae. It is a ladybird originally from Asia that has been introduced into North America, Europe and South America in order to control aphids. It has spread widely across all those regions and continues to expand. Unfortunately, it has become a pest in many places where it is not native; it invades the insides of houses in autumn looking for somewhere to overwinter and has a negative effect on native ladybird populations.

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

Temperate forestCarnivore Diurnal Solitary Insect Temperate forest

52countries3same family

Fun facts

It was introduced deliberately as biological control for aphids and scale insects, and ended up an invader: it is established in at least 59 countries outside its native range.
It is an intraguild predator: as well as aphids it eats the eggs and larvae of other ladybirds, including native ones.
An eleven-year study in eastern England recorded native ladybirds falling from 99.8 % of the total in 2006 to 30.7 % in 2016.
The European species most at risk is the two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata.
It has spread to every continent except Australia and Antarctica in about thirty years.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)
Habitat & environment: Deciduous woodland, crops, orchards and gardens; in autumn it gathers en masse to overwinter, often inside buildings

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_axyridis