Native ladybugs are rounder, deep red, and stay in the garden. Asian lady beetles are usually more orange, and often have an M-shaped mark behind the head, and are the ones that swarm homes in the fall.
It’s hard to tell ladybugs and Asian lady beetles apart. But there are a few differences, and it’s helpful to know them because Asian lady beetles can be a pain if let inside.
Look at the shield-like section just behind the head. Asian lady beetles have a black M- or W-shaped mark there (it reads as one or the other depending on the angle) on a whitish background. Native ladybugs don't have it.
Color and spots are less reliable than people assume. Native ladybugs tend toward a deeper, truer red with fairly consistent spotting. Asian lady beetles range all over, from pale orange to red, with anywhere from no spots to nineteen. Similarly, Asian lady beetles are a little longer and a bit more oval. But even with all these factors in mind, unless you’re looking at them side by side, it’s hard to tell which you’re looking at.
Native ladybugs stay outdoors in gardens and fields. Asian lady beetles gather in big numbers on sunny exterior walls in fall and then push indoors to overwinter, clustering around windows and in attics. If "ladybugs" are swarming the house in October, they're Asian lady beetles.
The Asian beetles also have two annoying traits that native ladybugs lack. Namely, they can release a staining, foul-smelling yellow fluid when disturbed. They can also nip you, although these little bites are not dangerous. Native ladybugs don’t do either of these things.
If you're tired of "ladybugs" taking over the house every fall, Mosquito Squad of North Shore can help. Mosquito Squad offers perimeter treatments that help keep Asian lady beetles and other invaders out. These are applied by a trained technician alongside the barrier service that also provides an up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a 21-day cycle.
