Guard duty

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Correct that they are non native and perform the same function, but it comes at a very high cost for the native species. Harmonia reproduce faster than the natives and are very voracious, even eating the larvae of the native species.Theyve also been shown to carry a fungus deadly for the natives. As a result the native species populations are in decline in North America and in Europe. In areas where Harmonia is very successful the natives are all but wiped out and are in decline everywhere else. The 9 spotted one is in serious trouble.Thethe problem is compounded by habitat loss. The Asian ladybug is an ecological disaster, and I have no mercy on them.

I am not fond of the Asian ones, either, as they not only bite but they actually eat the fruit. The native ones do neither.

Interestingly enough, for many years, we had the Asian lady bugs everywhere (farmers were using them on the soybean fields) but, lately, I have been seeing the little red-spotted ones once more. Last spring, I ordered some of the native lady bugs and all summer, I found plenty for the rest of the summer (I usually don't find many after a few weeks). I wonder if pesticides are killing off the Asian lady bugs but allowing the natives to live as the natives don't usually munch on the fruit like the Asian ones do?