Stellenbosch researchers seek SA gardeners ! help in tracking spread of alien ladybird
Ladybird , ladybird fly away home!
Your house is on fire and your children all gone . Ladybird , ladybird fly away home … * Well , particularly if you are the alien invasive Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis from Central and Eastern Asia . The creature has been declared a Nemba Category 1b invasive , because it negatively impacts pristine grassland and agricultural crops , as it is a voracious generalist . It can occur in large densities and compete against other indigenous insects . It is a medium-sized , shiny , orange to red beetle of 5- 8mm . The pattern of black spots is very variable but the pattern on the neck or pronotum is a black ' M ' or ' W ' ~ and this is what distinguishes this pest from indigenous lady beetles . The Harlequin ladybird is also predatory and by feeding on native ladybirds , alters or displaces native ladybird species .
The females lay yellowish eggs in small clusters on the surface of leaves , branches or tree trunks . Multiple studies have shown that the Harlequin ladybird can have detrimental effects on agricultural crops and on native ladybird diversity in other regions of the world and it is for this reason that researchers from the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University are asking for help from the public .
ALIENS
Help scientists track this pretty little bug
Stellenbosch researchers seek SA gardeners ! help in tracking spread of alien ladybird
To tackle pressing questions surrounding the invasion of the Harlequin ladybird in South Africa , landowners are asked to collect specimens and gather data on the distribution of the Harlequin ladybird throughout the country . Now is a good time to start looking out for it because
Continued on page 15
Alien Harlequin ladybird , above , with an indigenous ladybird below to show the difference in neck marking you are to look for in tracking the alien species .
13 www . sasmallholder . co . za