In thirty years, the multicoloured Asian lady beetle has invaded our regions, causing significant damage on an ecological, economic and societal scale. A recent study shows that rather than eradicating it, this lady beetle could be used in integrated pest management programs. Researchers from the Unit of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (University of Liège), in partnership with the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, have recently discovered the existence of a sex pheromone emitted by female multicoloured Asian lady beetles in the presence of aphids(1). A volatile chemical signal that attracts males without fail. The team from Gembloux is the first to reveal the involvement of a sex pheromone in lady beetle reproduction. The blend of molecules was reconstituted in the laboratory and will soon be tested in field crops. If the field experiments meet the researchers’ expectations, these findings will allow them to control and manipulate the movements of these lady beetles, leading to a more efficient biological control of aphids.  A study published in PLOS ONE.

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(1) Bérénice Fassotte, Christophe Fischer, Delphine Durieux, Georges Lognay, Eric Haubruge, Frédéric Francis, François J. Verheggen, First evidence of a volatile Sex Pheromone in Lady Beetles., Plos One, décember 2014