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6 June 2016 The Influence of Exotic Lady Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Establishment on the Species Composition of the Native Lady Beetle Community in Missouri
Lauren M. Diepenbrock, Kent Fothergill, Kelly V. Tindall, John E. Losey, Rebecca R. Smyth, Deborah L. Finke
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Abstract

The diversity and abundance of native lady beetles (Coccinellidae) in North America has declined in recent decades. This decline is often correlated with the introduction and establishment of exotic lady beetle species, including Coccinella septempunctata L. and Harmonia axyridis Pallas, suggesting that exotic species precipitated the decline of native lady beetles. We examined species records of native coccinellids in Missouri over 118 yr and asked whether the species composition of the community experienced a shift following the establishment of the exotic species. We found that the contemporary native coccinellid community is different from the community that was present nearly a century ago. However, there was no evidence for a recent abrupt shift in composition triggered by the establishment of exotic species. Instead, our data suggest that the native lady beetle community has been undergoing consistent and gradual change over time, with some species decreasing in abundance and others increasing. While not excluding exotic species as a factor contributing to the decline of native lady beetle species, our findings suggest that other continuous factors, like land use change, may have played a more influential role in determining the composition of the native coccinellid communities within our region.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Lauren M. Diepenbrock, Kent Fothergill, Kelly V. Tindall, John E. Losey, Rebecca R. Smyth, and Deborah L. Finke "The Influence of Exotic Lady Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Establishment on the Species Composition of the Native Lady Beetle Community in Missouri," Environmental Entomology 45(4), 855-864, (6 June 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvw065
Received: 5 November 2015; Accepted: 11 May 2016; Published: 6 June 2016
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KEYWORDS
Coccinella septempunctata
exotic species
Harmonia axyridis
long-term dataset
museum data
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