HowLadybugsAreAnInvasiveSpecies

MakaylaFrits
MooresvilleHighSchool

IfyouliveintheU.S.andhaveseenladybugsinyourhouseduringthewinter,then
theseladybugsaremostlikelyamemberofaninvasivespeciesfromAsia.Sincethese
nonnativespecieshavecomeintoU.S.theyhavebeenconsideredamajorthreatfacingnative
biodiversity.Sincethesenonnativeladybugshavebeenintroducedtherehasbeenarecent
majordeclineinthesoybeanaphid,whichisaninsectthatisnativetoNorthAmericaandAsia,
andotherspecies,butnowthesespeciesarequiterare.
Therearemanydifferentspeciesofladybugs,onebeingtheAsianladybug,whichmay
alsobecalledHarmoniaAxyridis.Thisisatypeofladybug,inwhich,aGermanresearcher
broughtintocontrolaphidsingreenhouses.Thisexperiment,however,backfiredonthemand
theAsianladybugspreadacrossEuropeandNorthAmerica.TheAsianladybugcandevour
overtwohundredaphidsinjustoneday.TheAsianladybugduringwinterwilloccupyhumans
homes.Theseladybugsproducestinkysecretionsthatcantriggeranallergicreactionor
breathingproblemsinhumans.Homeownershavereportedsinusproblemsduetoinfestations
ofAsianladybugs.
Theyalsoproduceanantimicrobialmoleculecalledharmonine.Researchersfoundthat
harmonineprotectstheAsianladybugsfromhungrypredatorsbecausethemoleculedoesnot
tastegoodtothem,thereforekeepingnativeladybugs,birds,orotherspeciesfromeatingthem.
Themoleculehappenstotastebadtohumanstoo.Thisisbecomingaproblembecausethe
AsianinvadershavealimingforeatingwinegrapesinFranceandSpain.Whentheinvasive
insectsslipintothewinemakingprocess,theunpleasanttastingharmonizespoilsthetastesof
wines.HowevertheAsianladybughasnegativestothem,theyalsohavepositives.Theyhave
anantimicrobialagainsttheagentsofbothmalariaandtuberculosis.Bothmalariaand
tuberculosisarebacterialdiseases.Theharmoninemoleculemayalsohelpfighthuman
pathogens.
Anothermajorfactisthattheaphidinsectsareamajorcroppest.Theaphidsdamage
plantsbymunchingonthem,helpspreadviralpathogenstoplants,andoftenregurgitateinto
plantleavesafluidcalledhoneydewthatcausesharmfulfungitogrow.Althoughthenative
ladybugseattheaphids,Asianladybugsarelargerthanmostnativespecies,theyarewillingto
devourtheaphids.
Asianladybugsareaggressive,theyareknowntoattackthelarvaeandeggsofother
insectslikebutterfliesandnativeladybugswithwhichtheycompetewith.Butthisisnotwhat
makesthemsodeadly.Thenonnativespeciesthemselvescontainhighconcentrationsofa
fungalparasitecalledmicrosporidia.Ifoneofthenativeladybugseatslarvaeandeggsofthe
Asianladybug,thenativesdieoff.
TheAsianladybuglooksverysimilartojustaregularladybugyouwouldsee.Thecolor
oftheladybugrangedfromyelloworangetoblack,andthenumberofspotsbetweennoneand
22.SincetheAsianladybugandaregularladybuglookverysimilarincolormostly,itcouldbe
veryhardtodistinguishwhetherornotyourelookingatanAsianladybugorjustaregular
ladybug.TochecktoseewhetheritsanativeladybugoranAsianladybugistosimplylookat
theladybug.TheAsianladybughastwolargeovalwhitemarkings.Besidestheovalwhite
spots,theresusuallyawhiteareainthemiddle,givingtheblackareaoftheprothoraxthe
appearanceofanM.

Aroundtentotwentyyearsagoitwasveryeasytofindnativeladybugs,butnowitis
mostlyveryhardtofindthemduetotheAsianladybuginvadingtheirareaandkillingthemoff.It
isveryhardforthenativeladybugsduringthewinterbecauseitisharderforthemtosurvive,
butfortheAsianladybug,itsnotashardandthemajorityofthemsurvivethroughthecold
wintersbystayinginpeopleshomes.Theycouldbehidinginyourattics,windowsills,and
placeswhereyoumaynotfindthem.However,theycangatherbythethousandstoweatherthe
coldtemperaturesinsideanycavelikedwellingtheycanfind.
ResearchersthatareworkingonladybugswanttounderstandthemysterytotheAsian
ladybug.Eventhoughtheladybugwasintroducedintotheareaduringthe20thcentury,itwas
onlyaroundthebeginningofthe21stcenturythattheirpopulationsbegantogrowoutofcontrol,
whichthentriggeredaconcernamongecologiststhatendemicspecieswouldbeoverwhelmed.
Butresearchersareworkingonawaytomodifyharmonizeintoadrugthatkillsthetuberculosis
andmalariapathogensinhumans.Thisisoneofthemostpositiveoutcomesthatcouldcome
outoftheAsianladybug.

Invasiveladybirdswage'biologicalwar'onnativesBBCNews
Retrievedfrom:

http://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment22554162

InvadingLadybugsCarryBioweapons
Retrievedfrom:

http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i21/InvadingLadybugsCarryBioweapons.html

IntraguildPredationandNativeLadyBeetleDecline
Retrievedfrom:http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0023576