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Asian Ladybug

Harmonia axyridis

1 Species ID Suggestions

misako
misako 12 years ago
Asian Ladybug
Harmonia axyridis Harmonia axyridis


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2 Comments

misako
misako 12 years ago

@jgorneau: sorry for not responding sooner. This species is very common in my garden in the Bay Area, not sure of their overall number. This is the info from Wikipedia on their introduction to the US:
This species was possibly established in North America as the result of introductions into the United States in an attempt to control the spread of aphids. Whatever the source, in the last two decades, this insect has spread throughout the United States and Canada and has been a prominent factor in controlling aphid populations.
In the U.S., the first attempts to introduce it took place as far back as 1916. Repeated efforts were not successful. In the early 1980s, aphids were causing significant problems for growers of pecan trees, so the United States Department of Agriculture again attempted to bring the insect into the country—this time in the southeastern United States, using beetles brought from their native region in northeastern Asia. After a period of time, USDA scientists concluded that their attempts had been unsuccessful. However, a population of beetles was observed near New Orleans, Louisiana around 1988, though this may have been an accidental introduction event independent of the original, planned efforts. In the following years it quickly spread to other states, being occasionally observed in the Midwest within 5–7 years, and becoming common in the region by about 2000. The species was also established in the northwest by 1991, and the northeast by 1994, in the former case quite possibly involving additional introductions, rather than reaching there from the southeast. It is reported that it has heavily fed on soybean aphids (which recently appeared in the U.S. after coming from China), supposedly saving farmers vast sums of money in 2001.

Jacob Gorneau
Jacob Gorneau 12 years ago

Thanks misako.hill, is this one of the most common ladybugs? How did they get from Asia to Maine?

Jacob Gorneau
Spotted by
Jacob Gorneau

Maine, USA

Spotted on Nov 26, 2011
Submitted on Jan 22, 2012

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