A killer ladybird that has invaded Britain and eats our native varieties has reached every corner of the UK, Daily Mail reports.
The harlequin ladybird has now been declared the UK’s fastest invading species. It preys on seven native ladybirds, including the native two-spot, which has slumped 44 percent.
After first arriving in the UK in Essex in 2004 they are now found from Cornwall to the Shetland Islands.
It is the fastest alien invasion of the UK on record with the rate of advance by grey squirrels, American mink, ring-necked parakeets and muntjac deer far behind them.
Scientists monitoring the spread of the voracious harlequin, which will prey on native ladybirds, said the warnings when it first arrived that it would colonise the country rapidly and was the world’s ‘most invasive ladybird’ have proved correct.
Dr Helen Roy, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said a decade of sightings recorded by the public as part of the UK Ladybird Survey since 2005 have revealed just how far and fast the harlequin has spread.
“The harlequin is the fastest-spreading alien species on record that I can think of,” she said, adding that it is now consolidating its presence in the UK.
While sightings of harlequins, Harmonica axyridis, in Scotland are much less common than in England and Wales it has colonised much of the south and has been spotted, though probably hasn’t established over-wintering populations, on the north coast and the Shetland Islands.
The species is believed to be responsible for the decline of at least seven native ladybirds, including the popular two-spot which when last assessed in 2012.
Dr Roy said that there has been no sign of a recovery among two-spots.
The impact of the harlequin has, however, been less costly than other invasive species such as Japanese knotweed which in 2010 was estimated to cost the UK economy £166million annually. Overall, invasive species are estimated to cost £1.7billion each year.
The Harlequins’ backs vary in colour and can be yellow, black or red so they can be difficult to distinguish from native species.
