The invasion history, distribution and colour pattern forms of the harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pall.) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) in Slovakia, Central Europe.

Peter Zach,Ľubomír Panigaj,Oldřich Nedvěd,Helen Roy,Sandra Viglášová,Diana Selyemová,Zdenka Martinková,Alois Honěk,Ján Kulfan

doi:10.3897/zookeys.412.6587

Abstract

The harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) has invaded and established in Slovakia. Following unintentional introduction in 2008, the spread of the alien coccinellid was very fast. By the end of 2009, it was recorded across the whole country, and by the end of 2012 it was widely distributed and common in various habitats, particularly gardens, orchards and urban areas, where it was most frequent on trees. The rate of eastward spread was approximately 200 km year-1, similar to the overall rate of spread in Europe. Between 2008 and 2012, the coccinellid was recorded in a total of 153 localities, in altitudes ranging from 98 to 1,250 m. Most records of this species were made in lowlands, hilly areas and valleys separating mountain ridges. However, it was only rarely documented in areas above 700 m a.s.l. The non-melanic colour form (f. succinea) was dominant along a longitudinal transect including eight urban areas across Slovakia, with the frequency of melanic forms (f. spectabilis and f. conspicua together) between 6.3 and 19.2% and a median equal to 10.5%. The invasion history and distribution of H. axyridis in Slovakia are discussed with regard to the time sequence of records, rate of spread, altitudinal distribution, anthropogenic dispersal, effective recording, proportion of melanic forms and other relevant aspects associated with the spread of this successful invader.

Highlights

The harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is native to eastern and central Asia occurring in Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, Russian Far East through Siberia to Kazakhstan (Brown et al 2008)
This study aims to document the spread of H. axyridis in Slovakia by summarizing the known records of the species collected over the period 2008–2012
A total of 153 records of H. axyridis were made across Slovakia over the period 2008– 2012, providing evidence of the occurrence of the coccinellid within 109 squares (11 × 12 km) across Slovakia, i.e. 25.5% of all available squares (Fig. 1, Suppl. material 1)

Summary

Introduction

The harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is native to eastern and central Asia occurring in Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, Russian Far East through Siberia to Kazakhstan (Brown et al 2008) This coccinellid is considered an invasive alien species in many countries (Brown et al 2011). It was intentionally introduced into North America several times from 1916 (Gordon 1985) for biological control of aphids and coccids but was first detected reproducing in the wild decades later, in 1988 (Koch et al 2006). By 2009, it was reported from Ukraine and Romania (Nekrasova and Tytar 2009, Marko and Pozsgai 2009)

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