Ladybugs pages

Ladybirds native to the UK and other European countries are declining fast, as the invasive harlequin species spreads.

The harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) was first spotted in Belgium in 2001, and in the UK and Switzerland in 2004.

Numbers of the two-spotted ladybird (Adalia bipunctata), they estimate, fell by 44% in the UK and 30% in Belgium in the five years following the harlequin's arrival.

The only UK species apparently unaffected by the harlequin's arrival was the seven-spotted ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) which is of a similar size and does not share the same habitat.