Double Infections of the Invasive Ladybird Harmonia axyridis

Michiel D De Groot,Danny Haelewaters

doi:10.3389/fevo.2022.756972

Abstract

The dramatic spread of invasive alien species over the past century is considered to be an important threat to ecosystems worldwide. The harlequin ladybird,Harmonia axyridis, from eastern Asia, is considered to be one of the most invasive species. Originally introduced across the world as a biological control agent against crop pests owing to its voracious appetite and hardiness, those same qualities have madeH. axyridisan invader that is difficult to eradicate.Harmonia axyridishas proven resilient against a variety of pathogens that have negative effects on other coccinellids. However, little research has examined the effects of simultaneous infections of multiple natural enemies onH. axyridis. Here we present the available information on such double infections onH. axyridis, and discuss further research directions in this area.

Highlights

The introduction and dramatic spread of non-native species is seen as a significant environmental disturbance threatening ecosystems around the world (Mooney and Cleland, 2001; Simberloff and Gibbons, 2004)
The above inventory of various pathogens and parasites co-infecting H. axyridis illustrate the fundamental gaps in our understanding of how these species interact on an ecological level, and that little research examines multiple groups of pathogens at once
Despite H. axyridis being a widely studied model organism for invasion biology (Roy and Wajnberg, 2008), little is known about its natural enemies

Summary

Introduction

The introduction and dramatic spread of non-native species is seen as a significant environmental disturbance threatening ecosystems around the world (Mooney and Cleland, 2001; Simberloff and Gibbons, 2004). The search for natural enemies of H. axyridis has identified a variety of pathogens, parasites, and parasitoids affecting the ladybird, including bacteria, protozoans, fungi, nematodes, mites, wasps, and flies (Ceryngier et al, 2012, 2018; Haelewaters et al, 2017).

Results

Conclusion