Every
year in autumn and spring there are articles in the media, especially in the
UK, about the Asian Ladybird, Harmonia
axyridis, or Harlequin Ladybird as it is known, one of several thousand different
non native species introduced in both France and the UK although only a few are
ladybirds. This species is generally regarded as the most invasive ladybird on
Earth and although they undoubtedly have an environmental impact due to their
high breeding and survival rate combined with their voracious appetite most
experts are of the opinion that they are now so abundant that there is little
if any point in killing them.
Harlequin
ladybirds, above, are extremely variable but most have a clearly defined
"M" or "W" on the pronotum.
Although
they feed most commonly on aphids they have a wide food range that includes
scale insects, adelgids, the eggs and larvae of butterflies and moths, many
other small insects including other ladybirds, pollen, nectar, and sugary
fluids, including honeydew and the juice from ripe fruits bringing them into direct competition with native species of Ladybird many of which
are already under pressure resulting from all the usual reasons, habitat loss
and pesticide use being uppermost.
The
risk as always that comes from articles in the media and the consequent sharing
on social media is that some people will unwittingly start killing anything
that they don’t recognise as the stereotypical image of a Ladybird, generally
the most common of which is the Red and Black spotted 7 spot ladybird, and there are too many people already
locked into a “kill everything that isn’t a butterfly” mode of thinking.
To
move on, there are 90 or more species of native Ladybird in France
It would be difficult here to include that number of native species, so I have listed a few here to give some idea of just how different they are.
Kidney-spot
ladybird (Chilocorus renipustulatus) Black body with large red spot on each
wing case, feeds on scale insects on the bark of trees.
Pine
ladybird (Exochomus 4-pustulatus) Usually elytra are black with two larger red
comma-shaped spots and two smaller red round or oval spots, feeds on aphids and scale insects.
Heather
ladybird (Chilocorus 2-pustulatus) Black with 2 to 6 red spots feeds on scale
insects.
16-spot
ladybird (Tytthaspis 16-punctata) Beige with black spots. Feeds on Aphids, Pollen,
nectar and fungi. Can overwinter in large numbers, 50 or more in one cluster.
Orange
ladybird (Halyzia 16-guttata) Orange Ladybirds can be
bright yellow or orange in colour with 16 creamy spots. Feeds on mildew.
22-spot
ladybird (Psyllobora 22-punctata). Bright yellow with 22 black spots. Feeds on Mildews
24
spot ladybird (Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata) Sometimes known as the
Alfalfa Ladybird. Orange France
Hieroglyphic
ladybird (Coccinella hieroglyphica) brown or black with black stripes, spots
and patches. Feeds on larvae of Heather leaf beetle.
Bryony
ladybird (Henosepilachna argus) Orange
28-spotted
potato ladybird (Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata) Orange
Chris.
