Monday 10 November 2008

If you see this ladybird - pounce!


This is the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

More details and pictures can be found here.

Due to misguided release it it has moved from its native habitiat and now can be found in America, Canada, Britain and Europe, where its voracious appetitie means that it out competes indigenous ladybirds and causes population decline before moving on to attack beneficial insect populations.

So far AQIS appears to have kept it out of Australia but this is by no means certain, so if you happen to see it in your garden, catch it in a bottle and contact AQIS or the CSIRO.

To sort out the good from the bad regarding ladybirds go to the CSIRO's Ladybirds of Australia.

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