Harmonia axyridis in Great Britain: analysis of the spread and distribution of a non-native coccinellid

By P. Brown, Helen E. Roy, P. Rothery, David Roy, R. Ware, M. Majerus. BioControl (Dordrecht), 2008

112 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is native to Asia, and was widely introduced as a biocontrol agent of aphids and coccids in Europe and North America. In Europe H. axyridis is considered to be an invasive alien species. Although not known to have been deliberately introduced to Great Britain, it was first recorded there in 2004, in south-east England. Harmonia axyridis arrived in Great Britain by various means, primarily from mainland Europe, but also from Canada. Extensive national and local media coverage, and a dedicated website (http://www.harlequin-survey.org), facilitated public involvement in recording H. axyridis in Great Britain; in excess of 4,000 verified records of the species were received between 2004 and 2006. Through detailed mapping, the objective of our study was to quantify and analyse the spread of H. axyridis in its early stages of invasion in Great Britain. Our data shows that between 2004 and 2006, the species spread north through Great Britain at the rate of 58 km year-1 and west at the rate of 144.5 km year-1. In England H. axyridis spread north to Yorkshire and west to Cornwall by the end of 2006, and also reached Wales. Recorded occurrence (of one or more H. axyridis individuals at larval, pupal and/or adult stage) in 10 km squares in Great Britain was: 2004—51; 2005—149; 2006—447. Records of juvenile H. axyridis extend through most of the recorded British range of the species, and we present evidence of bi-voltinism in the population in 2006.

Subfields: Insect Science, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bc8eef48566d41f27ba089a2ffc422c65c83175f

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Insect Science

1. Helen E. Roy
2. P. Brown
3. E. Evans
4. R. Koch
5. M. Majerus
6. N. Berkvens
7. Tim Adriaens
8. Dirk Maes

In Plant Science

1. Helen E. Roy
2. E. Evans
3. R. Koch
4. P. Brown
5. Tim Adriaens
6. Dirk Maes
7. William D. Hutchison
8. P. De Clercq

Citations in the corpus

• The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis: global perspectives on invasion history and ecology (2016, background): “During early stages of invasion it has been noted that H. axyridis is more prevalent within urban and agricultural landscapes than in semi-natural landscapes (Brown et al. 2008b; Grez et al. 2014a, b).”
• The Biological Records Centre: a pioneer of citizen science (2015, background): “…valuable when the general public can act as a dispersed network for the early detection of invasive nonnative species (Aitkenhead, 1981; Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce, 2012; Roy et al., 2015) or the spread of colonising species (Brown et al., 2008; Roy et al., 2012b).”
• The decline of moths in Great Britain: a review of possible causes (2013, background): “Many species of nonnative plants, vertebrates and invertebrates are established in Britain, and there are numerous negative impacts on native biodiversity (Brown et al., 2008; Lack, 2010; Lever, 2010; Holt et al., 2011).”
• The global spread of Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): distribution, dispersal and routes of invasion (2011, background): “Indeed, since the first observations of H. axyridis in Great Britain were concentrated in the south-east, one plausible route of entry to Britain is via passive dispersal on winds across the English Channel (Brown et al. 2008b).”
• Harmonia axyridis in Europe: spread and distribution of a non-native coccinellid (2008, background): “Ireland is the only remaining country left to be invaded from the westward spread, and we predict that H. axyridis will reach there, from Great Britain, in the relatively near future, and once established will spread across the whole country.”
• Invasive alien predator causes rapid declines of native European ladybirds (2012, background): “Harmonia axyridis, a native of central and eastern Asia, was released for the control of pest insects across North America from 1916 and Europe from the late 1980s (Brown et al., 2008a,b).”
• Decline in native ladybirds in response to the arrival of Harmonia axyridis: early evidence from England (2011, background): “It established in the late 1990s and expanded its range rapidly, especially from 2002 (Brown et al., 2008a).”