Harlequin Ladybird

Harmonia axyridis

OrderColeoptera

FamilyCoccinellidae

HabitatGardens, crops, trees, and buildings

SeasonYear-round; adults gather in buildings to overwinter

LocationWalter E. Long Lake, Austin, Texas, Travis County, Texas

SizeAdult about 0.25-0.3 in; larva up to about 0.4 in

DietAphids and scale insects

ConservationNot evaluated - introduced and invasive

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Harlequin Ladybird showing off at Walter E. Long Lake.

About the Harlequin Ladybird

The Harlequin Ladybird, known in the United States as the Asian Lady Beetle, is a ladybug that was brought from Asia to control aphids on crops. It worked well, but it also spread across North America and now competes with native lady beetles.

These photographs show the larva, which looks nothing like the adult. It is a spiny, black, alligator-shaped hunter with a bright orange stripe along each side, and it eats huge numbers of aphids before it turns into the familiar spotted beetle.

The photographs were made in March 2024, at Walter E. Long Lake in Travis County and in Bryan's backyard in Cedar Park.

Want to see a Harlequin Ladybird in the wild?
Join one of my guided birding tours! Fine art prints of my photos are also available.

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