Ladybug Trails

Tracks of a Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle

Working in the kitchen late at night, John noticed marks in the dust covered windows. A fascinating pattern of marks, triangular and linear, was in the dust. Ladybug tracks — the invasive, house-infesting ladybugs. I photographed the ladybug trails as soon as he pointed them out to me. How dirty have windows gotten when you can see bug tracks on them? It's pretty bad. But I still haven't bothered to clean the windows because the dust here is still unbelievable bad.

A secret ladybug message written in dust

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Ladybug Cannibalism

The dead ladybug seems to have it's wings open while the other ladybug feasts on its innards. I had never seen this behavior before so it surprised me. These are Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles. They are invasive bugs. You can read about them here on my blog. They infest homes in the spring here.

Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle Set

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Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle

Harmonia axyridis

It's ladybug infestation time again. But it isn't as bad here as in northern Vermont. This one was spotless. According to bugguide.net:

First introduced to North America (for biological control of aphids) in California in 1916, and again in California in 1964 and 1965. Also introduced in Washington state from 1978–1982, and in Nova Scotia, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina from 1978–1981 [Gordon, 1985]. Despite the numerous intentional releases, the species did not become established until 1988 in Louisiana [Chapin and Broux, 1991]. Thereafter, it spread rapidly thoughout most of United States, reaching Canada in 1994.

Although not native to this country, this species is widely sold for aphid control throughout the US, and has become very well-established (to the point of becoming a nuisance). The stage that eats the most aphids is the larva.

Adult beetles seek sheltered places to hibernate for the winter, and often invade homes in large numbers for that purpose. The best way to prevent this is to find and seal the cracks by which they gain entry.

When threatened, ladybird beetles in general, and this one in particular, exude a foul-smelling and -tasting liquid from their leg joints.

Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle Set

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