Harmonia axyridis

TaxID: 115357

Basic Information

Harmonia axyridis

Harlequin Ladybird

Harmonia axyridis is a lady beetle or ladybird species that is most commonly known as the harlequin, Asian, or multicoloured Asian lady beetle. This is one of the most variable lady beetle species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of colour forms. It is native to eastern Asia, and has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in Africa and widely across South America. This species is conspicuous in North America, where it may locally be known as the Halloween beetle, as it often invades homes during October to overwinter. Other names include multivariate, southern, Japanese, and pumpkin ladybird. Like other coccinellid beetles, this species may interchangeably be referred to as a lady beetle, ladybug, or ladybird, though entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. A widespread misconception exists that this species is not a ladybug due to confusion over common names.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Coleoptera

Coccinellidae

Harmonia

axyridis

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Harmonia axyridis
c
(c) bradleyraath@BY-NC
Harmonia axyridis
c
(c) Paolo Mazzei@BY-NC
Harmonia axyridis
c
(c) Mathilde Khao Sok@BY-NC
Harmonia axyridis
c
(c) Katja Schulz@BY
Harmonia axyridis
c
(c) Gilles San Martin@BY-SA

Morphological Features

Adult Harmonia axyridis are relatively large coccinellids, typically about 4.9–8.2 mm long and 4.0–6.6 mm wide, with a short-oval, strongly convex body and smooth, glabrous dorsal surfaces. Colouration is exceptionally polymorphic and should not be used alone for identification. The elytra may be yellow, orange, or red with zero to 19 black spots, or predominantly black with two or four red/orange spots; intermediate and less common patterns also occur. In pale forms, the pronotum is usually cream to yellowish-white with variable central black markings that may appear as four spots, two curved marks, a solid dark patch, or, characteristically, a black M- or W-shaped mark. Because this pronotal pattern is variable and may be weak or absent, it is best interpreted together with other structural characters. A particularly useful feature is the distinct subapical transverse fold or ridge near the posterior end of the elytra, visible as a shallow transverse elevation/depression across the apical declivity; its presence strongly supports identification as H. axyridis, although the ridge can be reduced or absent in some individuals. The elytral surface is not hairy. The head is variably black or yellow and may bear pale markings, while the lateral margins of the pronotum are typically pale. Ventrally, the abdomen is at least partly orange to reddish-brown, and the legs are generally brown to orange. Adults often appear nearly circular in dorsal view and hemispherical in lateral view, with broad, squared shoulders. Diagnostic assessment should therefore combine body size and convex outline with the highly variable elytral colour pattern, pronotal markings, and especially the posterior elytral fold. The three most useful characters for rapid field or image-based screening are: (1) a pale pronotum frequently bearing an M-shaped black marking, (2) strongly variable elytral colour and spot patterns, and (3) a distinct subapical transverse fold at the rear of the elytra. Because colour morphs overlap with those of other coccinellids and some individuals lack the typical M-shaped pronotal mark or a conspicuous ridge, uncertain specimens should be confirmed using multiple morphological characters and, where necessary, genital or molecular evidence.

Source: Koch (2003); Cisneros-Heredia & Peñaherrera-Romero (2020); Yu (2010) Life Stage: Adult Source Type: Peer-reviewed literature
Citation:

Koch RL (2003) The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis: a review of its biology, uses in biological control, and non-target impacts. Journal of Insect Science 3:32. https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/3.1.32; Cisneros-Heredia DF, Peñaherrera-Romero E (2020) Invasion history of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Ecuador. PeerJ 8:e10461. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10461; Yu G-Y (2010) Identification of Harmonia axyridis and H. yedoensis with notes on the former's color pattern and elytral ridge occurrence. Chinese Bulletin of Entomology.

Host Plants (0 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

No host plants available.

Quarantine Status (2 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Guatemala Absent —
Nicaragua Absent —

Distribution (95 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

95
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Albania Present —
Andorra Present —
Argentina Present —
Armenia Present —
Australia Present —
Austria Present —
Azerbaijan Present —
Belgium Present —
Bulgaria Present —
Bosnia and Herzegovina Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (7 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCF_914767665.1 Chromosome 425 22915 63675 0.974576294%
GCA_011033045.2 Chromosome 415 890 45919 -
GCA_009805905.1 Scaffold 10 30 211 -
GCA_003865315.1 Scaffold 557 26 157 -
GCA_003865295.1 Scaffold 581 24 100 -
GCA_003865275.1 Scaffold 510 23 57 -
GCA_003402655.2 Scaffold 434 86 1106 -

Transcriptomes (23 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
SRR15696832 adult body - - 19466609 China: Beijing
SRR15696831 adult body - - 20892510 China: Beijing
SRR15696830 adult body - - 27445447 China: Beijing
SRR15696829 adult body - - 32139641 China: Beijing
SRR15696828 adult body - - 22597159 China: Beijing
SRR15696827 adult body - - 26602174 China: Beijing
SRR24880642 whol body - - 24330486 China: Guangzhou
ERR12245507 - - NOT PROVIDED 36968671 N/A
SRR28131282 fat-body - - 21527969 China: Zhejiang
SRR28131281 fat-body - - 20488423 China: Zhejiang
Previous 1
Showing 1 to 10 of 23 transcriptomes

DNA Barcodes (894 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

Process ID BIN Marker Length Country Date Lat/Lon Sequence
GBMIN32197-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32196-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32195-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32194-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32193-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32192-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32191-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32190-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32189-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
GBMIN32188-13 BOLD:AAB5640 COI-5P 566 United Kingdom - 53.978447, -2.852944
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Literature