Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773)

Cvetkovska-Gjorgievska, Aleksandra, Dedov, Ivailo, Hristovski, Slavcho, Langourov, Mario, Lazarevska, Stanislava, Prelik, Dana & Simov, Nikolay, 2019, New records of allochtonous, invasive and pest invertebrate species from the Republic of Macedonia, Ecologica Montenegrina 20, pp. 56-70 : 59

Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) - Harlequin ladybird ( Coleoptera , Coccinelidae)

Record: Shar Planina Mt. , Golema Smreka, small peat bog in mountain pasture area, 2250 m.a.s.l., 22.07.2017, 1 specimen (f. conspicua), leg. S. Hristovski.

Origin: South-Eastern Asia ( Belyakova & Reznik 2013).

Comments: This predaceous coccinellid was introduced into the USA from South-Eastern Asia as early as 1916 and since then it has been successfully used in many countries for the biological control of insect pests. Since 1990s the harlequin ladybird invaded natural ecosystems in USA. At present, H. axyridis occurs in almost many countries in Europe, North and South America, and Africa and now is considered to be an invasive species, which is having a) negative effect on native aphidophagous insects through direct competition and as a voracious, polyphagous predator, b) it also consumes soft fruit and is adversely affecting the wine and fruit growing industries and c) occurs at high densities in buildings during overwintering and is thus regarded as a human nuisance ( Koch & Galvan 2008; Roy & Wajnberg 2008; Belyakova & Reznik 2013). In Europe it has spread very rapidly, particularly since 2002. It was also released in some Mediterranean countries ( Portugal, Spain and Greece). It is predicted that the spread and increase within Europe will continue and that H. axyridis will become one of the most widely distributed coccinellids in the continent ( Brown et al. 2008). This species is known from Macedonia from several localities: Dojran, Ohrid, Belčišta swamp, Skopje, Prilep, Kavadarci ( Kulijer 2016).