Unfortunately, the Asian lady beetle has a very large prey-range. Its voracity allows it to eat all aphids, out-competing native ladybirds whose populations decline by starvation. Furthermore, when it runs out of aphids, it starts eating other invertebrates – other ladybird species, hoverflies, lacewings, butterflies and the like. These other species, many of them beneficial, are put at risk. This has happened in North America and is currently happening in Europe.
