Asian lady beetle
Overview
Harmonia axyridis is a large coccinellid
beetle. Its colour ranges from yellow-orange to black, and the number of spots between 0 and 22. It is native to eastern Asia
, but has been introduced to North America
and Europe
to control aphid
s and scale insect
s. It is now common, well known and spreading in those regions.
It is commonly known in North America as Asian lady beetle, or Japanese ladybug, and in the United Kingdom
as the Harlequin ladybird (the last because it occurs in numerous colour forms).
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds , or ladybugs . Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as these insects are not true bugs...
beetle. Its colour ranges from yellow-orange to black, and the number of spots between 0 and 22. It is native to eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, but has been introduced to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to control aphid
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
s and scale insect
Scale insect
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...
s. It is now common, well known and spreading in those regions.
It is commonly known in North America as Asian lady beetle, or Japanese ladybug, and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as the Harlequin ladybird (the last because it occurs in numerous colour forms).
Unanswered Questions
