Harmonia axyridis, known as the harlequin ladybird in the United Kingdom and the multicolored Asian lady beetle in the United States, first arrived in the U.K. in 2004 and now constitutes about 80-90 percent of the ladybirds seen in urban areas of England. Headlines in British media in the fall of 2018 claimed the insects were carrying “STDs,” an over-sensationalized interpretation of research showing the harlequin ladybirds are often infected by a fungus that its transmitted among the species during mating. (Photo credit: Daren Mueller, Iowa State University, Bugwood.org)
Harmonia axyridis
Harmonia axyridis, known as the harlequin ladybird in the United Kingdom and the multicolored Asian lady beetle in the United States, first arrived in the U.K. in 2004 and now constitutes about 80-90 percent of the ladybirds seen in urban areas of England. Headlines in British media in the fall of 2018 claimed the insects were carrying “STDs,” an over-sensationalized interpretation of research showing the harlequin ladybirds are often infected by a fungus that its transmitted among the species during mating. (Photo credit: Daren Mueller, Iowa State University, Bugwood.org)
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