harlequin ladybirds

[nogojones]

I pinched a few larvae of these from a friends garden as I'm got a nasty blackfly infestation in mine, and they're out there happily munching away on the aphidy feckers.

but.... are they bad for other ladybirds?

Just because they have a good appetite and are shag happy they seem to be getting more common than our indigenous ladybirds and will this lead to our slack ladybirds being "out-compeated", or will it make our own ladybirds man up and get a grip

 

[Pickman's model]

yes

 

[geminisnake]

Yes, get rid of them!!

Harlequin ladybirds are an invasive non-native species of ladybird. They are an aggressive predator with a huge appetite and consequently could threaten our native species of ladybirds by out-competing them for food. They also feed on the larvae of our native ladybirds, as well as on butterfly and moth eggs. At the moment it is not known what effect harlequin ladybirds will have on our native wildlife.

 

[Sirena]

Another cull?

 

[Libertad]

Another cull?

.177 or .22 though?

 

[Sirena]

From a humane point of view, it would be better to round them all up and deport them. Otherwise there's a risk of being thought speciesist (or sub-speciesist).

 

[nogojones]

Yes, get rid of them!!

Harlequin ladybirds are an invasive non-native species of ladybird. They are an aggressive predator with a huge appetite and consequently could threaten our native species of ladybirds by out-competing them for food. They also feed on the larvae of our native ladybirds, as well as on butterfly and moth eggs. At the moment it is not known what effect harlequin ladybirds will have on our native wildlife.

but there ain't no proper ladybirds around that I've seen so I'm not gonna squish these until they've eat my aphids

 

[geminisnake]

maybe the harlequins have eaten them all