axyridis is rather complicated, and the following taxonomic treatment is primarily derived from Sasaji (1971) and Chapin (1965). axyridis is currently placed in the tribe Coccinellini of the family Coccinellidae ( Kovar, 1996). axyridis has also been released in Europe ( Iperti and Bertand, 2001, Katsoyannos et al., 1997) and was recently recorded in South America ( de Almeida and da Silva, 2002). This exotic coccinellid adds to the approximately 475 species of Coccinellidae in North America north of Mexico ( Gordon, 1985). Currently, it occurs throughout much of the continental United States, except for Montana, Wyoming, and parts of the southwestern United States (RLK, unpublished data). After this initial detection, it spread rapidly across North America ( Colunga-Garcia and Gage, 1998, Dreistadt et al., 1995, Hesler et al., 2001, Smith et al., 1996, Tedders and Schaefer, 1994). The first established population was documented in 1988 in North America ( Chapin and Brou, 1991).

axyridis as a classical biological control agent were made in North America, dating back to 1916 ( Gordon, 1985). axyridis extends from the Altai Mountains in the west to the Pacific Coast in the east, and from southern Siberia in the north to southern China in the south (e.g., Chapin, 1965, Dobzhansky, 1933, Korschefsky, 1932, Kuznetsov, 1997, Sasaji, 1971). The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), is a well-known aphid predator in its native Asian range (e.g., Hukusima and Kamei, 1970, Hukusima and Ohwaki, 1972, Yasumatsu and Watanabe, 1964).

Coccinella key north america