native to eastern Asia and now established across Europe, the Americas and Africa
Fine-art photographic collection
Harmonia axyridis
A ladybird with zero to twenty-two spots, antimicrobial blood and one of the fastest insect invasions ever recorded.
About this species
Harlequin Ladybird
Harmonia axyridis(Pallas, 1773)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Harmonia axyridis is a highly variable predatory ladybird native to eastern Asia. Introduced for aphid control, it spread across several continents and can overwhelm native ladybirds through competition, predation and disease interactions.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Coccinellidae · Harmonia
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
native to eastern Asia and now established across Europe, the Americas and AfricaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Trees, crops, gardens, buildings and almost any habitat containing aphids.
Diurnal in warm weather; forms large overwintering aggregations.
Aphids and other soft-bodied insects, plus eggs and larvae of other ladybirds.
Not colonial, but adults aggregate in large numbers for overwintering.
What makes this species remarkable?
Adults may have no spots at all or as many as twenty-two, with red, orange or black forms that can look like entirely different species.
Its body fluid contains harmonine, a powerful antimicrobial alkaloid that helps defend the beetle against pathogens.
It not only eats native ladybird eggs and larvae: it also carries microsporidian parasites that it tolerates but that can harm competing species.