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Ladybirds
New ladybird found in South Australia
A ladybird found in Europe, Russia and China has now been found in Australia. It was first recorded at Gatton, in the Lockyer Valley on November 2000 and has now also been found in South Australia.
In November 2002 it was first recorded in Loxton, SA feeding on aphids investing a covercrop in a vineyard.
The spotted amber ladybird (Hippodamia variegata) has a liking for aphids and is spreading rapidly having been identified in crops from Emerald in central Queensland to Griffith in south-western New South Wales.
Some people are confusing it with two or three other ladybirds, which are quite common in crops in Australia and have been recorded for many years. It is difficult to distinguish between these ladybirds.
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| Spotted amber ladybird |
Transverse ladybird |
Elevenspotted ladybird |
The spotted amber ladybird is smaller than the elevenspotted ladybird and not as curved (ie elevenspotted ladybird holds its head lower and under). The transverse ladybird is much larger and the spots on the wing covers merge.
The spotted amber ladybird attacks 12 different aphid species on an impressive number of agricultural and horticultural crops. A hungry adult ladybird or mature larva can eat 50 aphids a day.
The crops in which it attacked aphids in Australia and overseas included cotton, sorghum, potatoes, wheat, peanuts, lucerne and beans. Its activities are likely to benefit any crop in which there are aphids.
In NSW the rapid spread of the spotted amber ladybird has been attributed to its liking of the Australian environment, a life cycle of 3 to 4 weeks, an ability to fly 20 km or more and the 300 eggs laid by each female. The amber spotted ladybird was active in spring, giving it a strategic niche in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Considerable resources had gone into attempting to establish the ladybird in wheat areas of the United States, yet in Australia it had arrived and spread in Queensland and New South Wales without assistance.
SARDI would like to hear of new sightings of the ladybird and samples to be sent to the Insect Diagnostic Centre.
