Latest Harmonia axyridis Stories

An alien predator in Europe is leading to a rapid decline of a native ladybugs in Britain, Belgium and Switzerland. Scientists have found that Harlequin ladybugs are overwhelming native ladybugs through predation and competition. The native ladybug, most known for the 2-spots on its back, have declined by 30 percent in Belgium and 44 percent in Britain over the past five years after the Harlequin species arrived in 2001. "This study provides strong evidence of a link between the...

Research entomologist Louis Hesler takes readers along as he and others search for types of ladybugs that were once common but have become extremely rare in eastern North AmericaI was frustrated. I had been searching for years for the so-called "lost ladybugs," but hadn't found any.It was 2008, and only a few had been found by anyone in the last three decades, although they were once common in many areas, especially crop fields such as wheat and alfalfa.There are actually hundreds...

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With fall weather bringing unwanted, but harmless, insects into homes across the state, acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today offered homeowners some suggestions on how to keep out the unwanted pests. "These 'home invaders' may be a nuisance in the fall, but they don't pose any harm to humans or to property," said Redding. "They simply enter homes this time of year looking for a warm place to escape the cold winter months."...

Researchers in New York are breeding colonies of ladybugs from those found by scientists in Oregon and Colorado during a year-long search.Last year, entomologist John Losey from Cornell University first introduced the Lost Ladybug Project in an attempt to find out why the once-common native ladybug species had almost completely disappeared across the nation. The project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, rounds up citizen scientists, or individual volunteers who may have no...

Scientists have warned that the Harlequin ladybird is putting over 1,000 species in the UK in peril, BBC News reported.Dr. Helen Roy of the Center for Ecology and Hydrology called the rate of spread "dramatic and unprecedented."In just four years, the ladybird has spread to most parts of the UK, where it feeds on many other insects.But the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition produced research that suggests local ladybird parasites are adapting to prey on the interloper.Scientists...