Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the decline since 2012 in UK native ladybird species as a result of the invasive Harlequin ladybird, and (2) the impact of this decline on the resilience of ecosystems; and what steps they are taking to address this.

The Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), a native of central and eastern Asia, was released for the control of pest insects across Europe from the late 1980s. It was first recorded in the UK in 2003 and considered an established species by 2005. There are no known cases of the Harlequin ladybird having been deliberately released in the UK and it is believed to have arrived through natural dispersal from Europe.

The Government has not conducted its own assessment of the decline in UK native ladybird species as a result of the Harlequin ladybird. However, research carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and analysis by UK experts using records collated through the UK Ladybird Survey, indicate that the Harlequin ladybird is displacing some native ladybird species, by out-competing them for food and through direct predation. Further research is planned by the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology to understand better the impact of the Harlequin ladybird on the resilience of the UK’s natural ecosystems.

The Harlequin ladybird is now widely spread across the UK, particularly in England. There are no appropriate methods for controlling the Harlequin ladybird which would not also harm native species and no effective mitigation measures that can be adopted to address their impacts. The Harlequin ladybird however, provides an important case study that has informed our response to invasions of similar non-native species.