Harlequin Ladybirds invading cherry tree

[dillbarn]

Hi
I've Got a cherry tree in my garden which for the first ever is producing a bumper crop untouched by pests. As I was admiring the cherries though I spotted around 12 ladybird Larvae on the tree which I believe after some research are Harlequin ladybirds. Also several clusters of yellow eggs around the branches. I was just wondering if these Ladybirds(I've heard they are bad!) could be responsible for the abundance of brilliant cherries by keeping down the pests. Also are the egg clusters likely to be Harlequins too? And if not then could the Harlequins start eating them too? Thanks

[Paul mabbott]

Yes, these are Harmonia axyridis, 'harlequin ladybird', larvae; and, yes again, they are very good at eating pests such as aphids. They are regarded as 'bad', as you say, because they may have damaging effects on populations of other ladybirds and other benevolent insects. They are not 'bad' for plants!
The eggs, ova, are most likely H. axyridis - it's a reasonable guess (but now way conclusive) that ladybird eggs derive from the predominant later stage ladybirds seen.

Originally Posted by dillbarn

Hi
I've Got a cherry tree in my garden which for the first ever is producing a bumper crop untouched by pests. As I was admiring the cherries though I spotted around 12 ladybird Larvae on the tree which I believe after some research are Harlequin ladybirds. Also several clusters of yellow eggs around the branches. I was just wondering if these Ladybirds(I've heard they are bad!) could be responsible for the abundance of brilliant cherries by keeping down the pests. Also are the egg clusters likely to be Harlequins too? And if not then could the Harlequins start eating them too? Thanks

[dillbarn]

Thanks for the reply. Shame the lovely cherries are coming at a price though. Don't suppose there is much you can do about the Harlequins once they are there.

[Jason Green]

Evening Dill, and welcome to WAB!

Originally Posted by dillbarn

Thanks for the reply. Shame the lovely cherries are coming at a price though. Don't suppose there is much you can do about the Harlequins once they are there.

If you've never had such a crop before, then the native species have probably been too low in number to impact on the pests. If the Harlequins are 'doing a service' here, then it sounds as if they are fitting into a bit of a niche in your garden and living alongside any natives as opposed to equally inhabiting 'their' domain and competing for food, etc.

Killing individual Harlequins is pretty ineffectual, really.

Take care,

Jason