title: Ten years of invasion:Harmonia axyridis(Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Britain.
abstract: 1.Harmonia axyridiswas first recorded in Britain in 2004. Two subsequent earlier records were received from 2003. 2. The UK Ladybird Survey, a citizen science initiative involving online recording, was launched in 2005 to encourage people across Britain to track the spread ofH. axyridis. Tens of thousands of people have provided records ofH. axyridisand other species of ladybirds, creating an invaluable dataset for large-scale and long-term research. Declines in the distribution of seven (of eight assessed) native species of ladybird have been demonstrated, and correlated with the arrival ofH. axyridis, using the records collated through the UK Ladybird Survey. 3. Experimental research and field surveys have also contributed to our understanding of the ecology ofH. axyridisand particularly the process of invasion.Harmonia axyridisarrived in Britain through dispersal and introduction events from regions in which it was deliberately released as a biological control agent. The rapid spread of this species has been attributed to its high natural dispersal capability by means of both flight and anthropogenic transport. A number of factors have contributed to the successful establishment and indeed dominance of this polymorphic species within aphidophagous guilds, including high reproductive capacity, intra-guild predation, eurytopic nature, high resistance to natural enemies within the invaded range, and potentially phenotypic plasticity. 4. The global invasion byH. axyridisand subsequent research on this species has contributed to the general understanding of biological invasions.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Oxfordshire, U.K.
authors.forename: Helen E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Animal and Environment Research Group, Life Sciences Department, Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge, U.K.
authors.forename: Peter M J
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Brown
keywords: Biological invasions; citizen science; intra-guild predation; invasive species; monitoring and surveillance; non-native species