Asian lady beetle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Family: Coccinellidae Genus: Harmonia Species: H. axyridis
Binomial name
Harmonia axyridis Pallas, 1773

The Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis), often known as the Asian multicolored lady beetle because of the species' tendency to vary in color from orange to yellow to even black, is now a common insect in North America. It is a non-native insect on the continent, introduced in the United States in an attempt to control the spread of aphids. After many years of trying to establish a North American population of these beetles brought from their native region in northeastern Asia, a group finally took root in Louisiana around 1988. Since then, the insect has spread throughout the United States and has succeeded in controlling aphid populations. However, many people are now coming to view the Asian lady beetle as a nuisance, probably partly due to the fact that they not only like to overwinter indoors, along with the fact that they emit an unpleasant odor and a defensive stain when squashed. The Asian multicolored lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis), is easy to identify from its false eyes—twin white football-shaped markings behind the head. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (walking sticks) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera... Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Beetles are one of the main groups of insects. ... Subfamilies Chilocorinae Coccidulinae Coccinellinae Epilachninae Scymininae Sticholotidinae etc. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Peter Simon Pallas (September 22, 1741 - September 8, 1811) was a German-born Russian zoologist. ... Color is an important part of the visual arts. ... The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 620-585 nanometres. ... Yellow is the color of light with a wavelength between 565 nm and 590 nm. ... Black is a color with several subtle differences in meaning. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... Families There are 10 families: Adelgidae - adelgids, conifer aphids Anoeciidae Aphididae Drepanosiphidae Greenideidae Hormaphididae Lachnidae Mindaridae Pemphigidae Phloeomyzidae Phylloxeridae Thelaxidae Aphids or greenfly, plant lice (superfamily Aphidoidea) are small plant-feeding insects (1 to 10 mm). ... Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Beetles are one of the main groups of insects. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Subfamilies Chilocorinae Coccidulinae Coccinellinae Epilachninae Scymininae Sticholotidinae etc. ...

In the U.S., the first attempts to introduce the beetle took place as far back as 1916. Repeated efforts were not very successful. In the early 1980s, aphids were causing significant problems for growers of pecan trees, so the United States Department of Agriculture again attempted to bring the insect into the country—this time in the southeastern United States. After a period of time, USDA scientists concluded that their attempts had been unsuccessful. However, a population of beetles was soon observed near New Orleans, Louisiana. In the following years, the beetle quickly spread to other states, being occasionally observed in the Midwest within about 5–7 years, and becoming common in the region by about 2000. 1916 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... Binomial name Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... City nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City that Care Forgot Location of New Orleans Country   State     Parish United States   Louisiana     Orleans Parish Mayor C. Ray Nagin Area   â€“Land   â€“Water 350. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Asian lady beetles hibernate in cooler months, though they will wake up and move around whenever the temperature reaches about 50°F (10°C). Because the beetles will use crevices and other cool, dry, confined spaces to hibernate, significant numbers may congregate inside walls if given a large enough opening. They often congregate in sunlit areas because of the heat available, so even on fairly cold winter days, some of the hibernating beetles will “wake up” because of solar heating. These large populations can be problematic because they can form swarms and hover in an area for a long time. Also, the bugs do not understand that glass cannot be penetrated by their small bodies, so many of the bugs will crash into window panes. Hibernation is a state of regulated hypothermia, lasting several days or weeks, that allows animals to conserve energy during the winter. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... A red-hot iron rod cooling after being worked by a blacksmith. ... Solar heating is a style of building construction which uses the energy of sunshine to heat a structure. ... School of juvenile herring - many fish have the opercula wide open for ram feeding and you can see the red gills The term swarm (schooling or swarming) is applied to fish, birds and insects and describes a behavior of an aggregation (school) of animals of similar size and body orientation... The materials definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. ... Highly decorative Window in a Japanese Onsen in Hakone A window is an opening in an otherwise solid, opaque surface through which light can pass. ...

These bugs will “reflex bleed” when agitated, releasing blood from their legs. The blood has a foul odor (similar to that of dead leaves) and can cause stains. It is believed that some people have allergic reactions when repeatedly exposed to lady beetles (especially dead ones). Sometimes, the beetles will bite humans, although many people feel a pricking sensation as a lady beetle walks across the skin. Bites are believed to do no more harm than cause irritation. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ... In an extended sense, a leg is any part of an object that supports it off the ground. ... Odor receptors on the antennae of a Luna moth An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English) is the object of perception of the sense of olfaction. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Stain has several possible meanings: A stain can be an unwanted localized discoloration, often in fabrics or textiles. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Model of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system; which is composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ...

These beetles can sometimes be difficult to identify because of their variations in color, spot size, and spot count. The easiest way to identify an Asian lady beetle is to look at the pronotum and see if the black markings look like a letter “W” or “M” (depending on if the marking is viewed from the front or the back). The pronotum is the dorsal plate of the prothorax in insects ... W is the twenty-third letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... M is the thirteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. ...

Despite the troubles the Asian lady beetle causes, many biologists still view the bug as a beneficial insect. It is reported that the beetle has heavily fed on soybean aphids (which recently appeared in the U.S. after coming from China), supposedly saving farmers vast sums of money in 2001. For most people, when they think of insects, they think of pests such as mosquitoes or tomato worms. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey 2001 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetle FAQ

• Report sightings of the Harlequin Ladybird in the British Isles