Asiatic Lady Beetle

Here's an Asiatic Lady Beetle I met. I suspect it was looking for something to eat on a Multifloral Rose. I know they eat small arthropods like aphids; I'm not sure what the beetle was looking for on the Multifloral Rose. (It's possible that early stage Spotted Lanternfly nymphs might be on the menu, though I suspect they rapidly get too large for the Asiatic Lady Beetle.)

My impression is that most of the "ladybugs" we see turn out to be Asiatic Lady Beetles. (Entomologists cringe a little about the ladybug name since these guys are not bugs but are beetles. Of course, the exact same complaint is also valid for lightning bugs.)

This is considered an invasive species, and has no doubt out-competed similar native beetles. They were introduced intentionally to control aphids, and while they do eat aphids it's certainly debatable whether they should have been brought here.

Their coloring is wildly variable. This one is nearly yellow with black spots, but red/orange is more common. Sometimes the elytra (wing covers) will have few or zero spots. Sometimes the elytra will be primarily black with large red spots or smaller red blotches. It sounds like around me, unless you see a similar beetle that's much smaller than usual, you're probably seeing an Asiatic Lady Beetle almost regardless of what the elytra pattern is like.

June 23, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 141961247, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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