Multicolored Asian Ladybug Beetle - an invasive ladybug?

Compare this ladybug to the ones below - do you notice a difference?
Native ladybugs I have photographed.  No white collar (pronotum) present.

Who doesn't love ladybugs?  You can put a ladybug on a child's finger with no fear of anything bad happening.  Then, it will likely fly off to fight aphids in your garden.  Pretty, gentle, and helpful.  Then along came the Asian ladybug.

The Asian ladybug beetle looks a little different from native species.  Native species are generally red, although there are quite a variety of colours.  They are also relatively small, round, and do not have a pronounced white collar or pronotum present.  The Asian variety has such a collar and it often has a distinct "M" shaped mark on it.  The pronotum of native ones are generally black (the above shots show "white" areas that are just reflections off the shell from the macro flash).

The Asian ladybug is somewhat invasive.  They compete with native ladybugs for food (although, in their defense, a dead aphid is a good aphid).   They bite, although they won't draw blood.  If threatened they release a nasty-smelling chemical that no proper ladybug would ever consider being associated with.  This yellow chemical also stains and may evoke an allergic reaction.  And then there is the fact that, as winter approaches, they migrate in great numbers into indoor spaces to avoid the cold.  If you want to see a large aggregation, click here.

Are they dangerous?  No, not really.  Are they helpful - well, they do kill aphids.  Are they annoying?  In a word, yes.  We could really do without them.  However, they are probably here to stay.  I wouldn't exactly call them invasive, but the next time you pick up a ladybug, make sure she is a true lady.  The other ones may bite or smell bad.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harjit Bahia - Science teacher and colleague from Garibaldi died August 2, 2024

Image
You will be missed Mr. Bahia.  You made a difference and we are sad you are gone. I keep in loose contact with my fellow retired teachers from Garibaldi Secondary School.  I talked with my long-time friend, Mike Lynch, today, and discovered that Hargit died over the summer.  Unbeknownst to him, he had an underlying heart condition and passed away after working out on his treadmill.  The date was August 2, 2024. I was shocked to hear this.  He was only 49 years old, turning 50 some 3 months later.  It was a shock to everyone, for he was loved by all who knew him.  As a teacher, Mr. Bahia was kind and fun.  He contributed to students in many ways and was always available to help those in need.   For myself, I knew him as a fellow science teacher and taught in the adjoining room to him.  He was always available to help, share ideas, and work together.  Easy to approach, I found that I could talk to him about anything and appreciat...
Read more

I found a black widow spider in a plant pot today

Image
The spider I found is a western black widow spider, one of three species of black widow that occur in North America.  The fact that this one has another red patch on the back of its abdomen above the spinnerettes tells us that it is an immature individual. The one thing that people know about black widow spiders is that they are extremely poisonous.  Their venom is something like 15x more toxic than that of a rattlesnake.  The saving grace is that there is very little venom injected from a black widow bite than what a rattlesnake can deliver.   The good news is that black widow bites seldom lead to death.  You are more likely to suffer nausea, muscle pain, and swelling around the bite.  Symptoms usually last only 12 hours or so.  Death may be a result in people with compromised immune systems or in the very young or the elderly.   In 2018, it was reported that there were 1015 cases of people bitten by black widows.  Of those, there ...
Read more

The passing of a generation

Image
Kathryn's mom and dad with our children, Josh and Leanne. A generation, for North America, tends to be between 20 and 30 years.  During that time a couple will give birth and raise children to see them repeat the pattern as they themselves have done.  Each generation has its own set of standards, values, and ideals based upon their experiences and culture, and some of that is passed down to their offspring.  What changes are the life experiences of the following generation and the new customs and ideals that are blended together as a couple becomes a family. Kathryn's mom passed away a few days ago, she was predeceased by her husband several years ago.  Both of them were the grandparents of my children, the mother and father of my wife, Kathryn.  It was my pleasure to know them and to love them as my own, for to me they were Mom and Dad.  And they were there to welcome my children into the world just as my children were with them in spirit when they left it...
Read more