ht tp : / / do c . re ro . c h Current and potential management strategies against Harmonia axyridis

This paper reviews the current and potential methods to control the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), an Asian predatory beetle invasive in Europe and the Americas where it has become a human nuisance, a grape and wine pest and a threat to native biodiversity. Current methods to manage this invasive species include: techniques to mechanically prevent adult beetles from entering buildings in autumn or to remove aggregates of beetles inside buildings, e.g. using various trapping methods; the use of insecticides on buildings or in vineyards to prevent aggregation in houses or on grapes; cultivation practices in vineyards to lower the impact of the ladybird on grape production and wine quality; remedial treatments for wine tainted by the ladybird. Other methods are presently being developed or considered. Semiochemicals could be used as deterrents or as attractants to develop more efficient trapping systems in buildings and open fields. Natural enemies include pathogens, parasitoids, predators and a parasitic mite but few of them show potential as biological control agents. While management methods presently used or under development may eventually solve the problems caused by beetles aggregating in buildings or vineyards, the issue of H. axyridis populations outcompeting native species is much more challenging. Only the sudden adaptation of a native natural enemy or the importation of a natural enemy from the area of origin of the ladybird may M. Kenis (&) R. Zindel CABI Europe-Switzerland, 1, Rue des Grillons, 2800 Delemont, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] H. E. Roy NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Monks Wood, Huntingdon PE28 2LS, UK e-mail: [email protected] R. Zindel Department of Biology, Unit of Ecology and Evolution, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] M. E. N. Majerus Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, England, UK e-mail: [email protected] 1 Published in "BioControl 53(1): 235-252, 2008" which should be cited to refer to this work.