Find out the gory details of what diseases ladybirds can get, including male-killing bacteria, fungal infections and more! Plus learn why some of them can actually end up helping the ladybird! 

Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/G2G63KMOK :) 

Podcasts I've listened to this week include the Bearded Tit's podcast by Jack Perks. https://twitter.com/TitBearded 

Sources: 

https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-443/#:~:text=TWiV%20443%3A%20On%20a%20leaf%2C%20no%20one%20can,she%20protects%20the%20cocoon%20until%20the%20adult%20emerges - TWiV 443 - On a leaf, no one can hear you scream. 

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-6939-0_18 -Interactions between the fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana and three species of coccinellid: Harmonia axyridis, Coccinella septempunctata and Adalia bipunctata

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2402774 - Plant viruses and 7 spots

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/2458/1/IGP.pdf - Beauveria bassiana and Harmonia axyridis

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christine_Nalepa/publication/6612748_Infection_of_Harmonia_axyridis_Coleoptera_Coccinellidae_by_Hesperomyces_virescens_Ascomycetes_Laboulbeniales_Role_of_mating_status_and_aggregation_behavior/links/5b7ec14b299bf1d5a71f61c1/Infection-of-Harmonia-axyridis-Coleoptera-Coccinellidae-by-Hesperomyces-virescens-Ascomycetes-Laboulbeniales-Role-of-mating-status-and-aggregation-behavior.pdf - Harmonia axyridis and Laboulbeniales fungus.

https://academic.oup.com/femsec/article/77/2/229/498289 - Avoidance of a generalist entomopathogenic fungus by the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10526-011-9387-1 - Parasites and pathogens of the ladybird Harmonia axyridis

Michael Majerus 'A Natural History of Ladybird Beetles' - see Chapter 5, Ladybird Death. 

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0054218#:~:text=Ladybirds%20are%20a%20hot%2Dspot,invasion%20of%20male%2Dkilling%20bacteria.&text=DNA%20sequence%20analysis%20indicates%20that,occur%20within%20one%20beetle%20population. - Male-killing Wolbachia bacteria

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236921409_Invasive_Harlequin_Ladybird_Carries_Biological_Weapons_Against_Native_Competitors - Harlequin ladybirds and microsporidia

https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article-abstract/92/2/260/27916 - Inbreeding in the 14 spot ladybird 

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/Z08-096?journalCode=cjz - Epilachna nylanderi and its strange digestive system

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMBSm8KkjI - Insect growth and development. See also discussions in the Ladybirds of UK facebook group.