BRITISH LADYBUGS (OR LADYBIRDS) THREATENED BY FOREIGN CANNIBAL SPECIES

Two Spot Ladybug - prey

British ladybirds are under threat from a cannibal species from Europe.  The harlequin ladybird, which is now the second most common in the UK, is eating other ladybirds - including the 2-spot and 10-spot - at such a rate, it has become one of the world’s fastest spreading insects.  Since the harlequin was spotted in the UK in 2004 it has bred with astonishing ferocity and there are currently more than a billion.   Hundreds of householders have reported plagues inside their homes. 

 

Harlequin Ladybug - Predator

A new study is the first to use DNA analysis to identify prey species in the guts of harlequins showing their ‘damaging effect on native species.’  Originally from East Asia, the harlequin is larger and more voracious than native British ladybirds that have become part of its diet.  Although mainly an aphid predator, it is believed to be responsible for the decline of some other ladybirds through competition and cannibalism.  In total, 177 larvae were collected from the wild in England, France, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic before being tested.

 

Read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2666009/British-ladybirds-threat-CANNIBALS-DNA-analysis-shows-native-insects-devoured-foreign-cousins.html

 

Photos - Corbis, Daily Mail

 

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