(Note: this post has been revised to clarify that the convergent lady beetle is native in North America – though it is being moved around as a pest control agent, including into parts of South America, where it isn’t native.)
I saw two native ladybugs this week at our Platte River Prairies, which shouldn’t be as notable as it is. Unfortunately, over the last 20 years, native ladybug populations have steeply declined – especially among some species, which are almost never seen anymore in many places. During the same time, non-native ladybugs (lady beetles) have dramatically increased in abundance. As a result, the vast majority of lady bugs I see are non-native (particularly the 7-spotted and Asian lady beetles). Finding a native species is a cause for celebration.
Frequent readers of this blog will know that competition from honey bees (non-native species) has contributed to the decline of native bees in North America. There are many other factors, though, linked to those bee declines and it’s hard to know exactly how important honey bee competition is. A similar problem exists with investigations into disappearing ladybugs. There are certainly strong correlations between increases in non-native ladybug abundance and decreases in native species populations. However, habitat loss and degradation, pesticide use, and many other factors are at play as well.
Scientists continue to delve into this and there are opportunities for you to help. For example, the Lost Ladybug Project is a community science effort that encourages people to send in photos of both native and non-native ladybugs to build understanding about changes in populations. Their website has information about how to become involved, but also some great information on how to identify ladybug species. For people in the Great plains, a particularly nice resource linked to on that site is the Ladybugs of South Dakota poster, which has terrific photos of 80 ladybug species. I’ve found it to be an easy and very helpful tool to identify species.
Ladybugs are an easy group of insects to learn because their spot patterns make them relatively easy to identify (though some of the species – especially the Asian lady beetles – can be variable in appearance.) Whether or not you join in community science efforts related to ladybugs, it’s important to be aware of what species you see around you. The two photos above show the most common non-native ladybugs seen around Nebraska. If you see something that looks like a ladybug and it doesn’t look like one of those two, take note. Even better, take a picture!
Once you have a decent photo, you’ll have a good chance of identifying the species. If you can’t figure it out, you can submit it to iNaturalist, Bugguide, or other sources. Pretty soon, you’ll become familiar with what the non-natives look like. The bad news there is that you’ll probably start to realize how dominant they’ve become in your area. The good news is that when you actually find a native species you’ll know it’s time to celebrate!
transversoguttata richardsoni), which is listed as ‘Lost’ on the South Dakota poster I mentioned above. As soon as I finish this post, I’m going to submit the photo to the Lost Ladybug Project. Then I’m going to celebrate!
The Prairie Ecologist 
Chris! What a great post and gives me yet another idea on how to involve getting kids in the Prairie. Ladybugs are beloved insects among the kiddos who go to no ends to find one, I tell them it means good luck if they do. Then the process of discovery begins….what do they eat, where do they live, etc. Kids are great sponges and beginning the interest in prairies at an early age might become a lifelong interest.
Thanks once again for the beautiful photos and links to finding more information.
Thanks for this great post Chris! I worry a lot about invasives of all kinds, but here in central Illinois I worry about unregulated pesticide use as much or more. And not only insecticides, but other pesticides which affect the growth and life of non-crop plants, microorganisms, and even fungi that are important to insects. Nearly universally used neonicotinoid seed coatings that get knocked off and made airborne by air-driven planting equipment and the huge increase in use of volatile plant growth regulator (PGR) herbicides (like dicamba and 2,4D to name a couple), spell huge new challenges for insects and the life that depends on them. Along with annual habitat loss, it all seems to add up to the perfect storm of maladies for life on the former prairie.
What do you think of buying ladybugs in containers?
Our local nursery, who specializes in native plants and tries to sell many organic or at least non-neocotinoid treated plants, sells then in plastic containers or mesh bags at times in spring.
As someone who is trying to propagate native milkweed…which is challenging in my area…I felt like it was a great way of getting help with aphids.
Retrospectively, I wondered if buying insects could be introducing fungus, bacteria, or viruses. Most of the outdoor chrysalises resulted in death before emergence or death by OE, 3/4, and I had to euthanize the 2 OE ones.
It never even crossed my mind that there was a problem with non native ladybugs?
Could non native ladybugs be spreading OE???
I know it’s several years too, late and you are unlikely to see this, but PLEASE, DO NOT BUY ladybugs online or even at your local nursery or garden shop. Many ladybugs now carry what we humans would call a sexually transmitted disease. Ladybugs for sale are harvested from the wild and NOBODY is checking for bug STD’s before selling them to consumers.
Unfortunately, we just can’t buy “good bugs” to eat the “bad bugs” anymore, because we are making the invasive species problem worse. The best we can do, is to plant native species into our landscapes to encourage the natives that still exist.
PS Look up the life stages of ladybugs. Their young look nothing like the adult beetles. You don’t want to accidently harm the “teenagers” by thinking they are a pest.
NOTE: I mistakenly said the convergent lady beetle was non-native in an earlier version of this post, but have corrected that.
Good idea – will start keeping an eye out for the natives. Thanks!
Well, to be honest, introducing non-native species is of course never a good idea, but I don’t think we really need more science to know for a fact that the major problems for nature are habitat loss and degradation, pesticide use etc. The real problem is that the people who could make a difference don’t want to know.
I spied…a prairie ecologist LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCnTRi8dfu8 Great panel, everybody!
I found a huge lady bug today almost the size of a dime. It looks almost like the one in the top photo. This is the only place I’ve found anything similar. Unfortunately it flew away but I got photos.
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