The brightly coloured Harlequin Ladybird is tougher than British native species and will feed on them when food becomes scarce.

According to nature buffs, this killer bug could wipe out dozens of types of British ladybird.

The greedy insect has a big appetite and has even been known to bite people.

HeraldExpress photographer David Satchel spotted this group of the predatory beetle on a post outside Dagnall School.

Now Dacorum residents are encouraged to share their sightings of the Harlequin as part of a national tracking scheme at www.harlequin-survey.org

Researcher Peter Brown, of the Biological Records Centre, said: "There are 46 species of ladybird resident in Britain and the recent arrival of the harlequin ladybird has the potential to jeopardise many of these.

"The Harlequin Ladybird Survey monitors its spread across Britain and will assess its impact on native ladybirds."

Originally from Asia, the aggressive breed was first spotted in the UK in 2004 and has since swarmed across the south east.

It is believed to have arrived in the UK via Europe where it is used to control pests on crops.

Also known as the multi-coloured Asian ladybird and the Halloween ladybird, the insect has a huge appetite for aphids and leaves little for native ladybirds, who then starve or become food themselves if resources diminish.

When aphids are scarce they will consume ladybird eggs, larvae and pupae, as well as butterfly and moth eggs and caterpillars.

The survey has received 10,000 online reports since it launched in 2005, with evidence that the Harlequin has now spread as far north as Yorkshire.

People can photograph any ladybird they believe may be this foreign species and visit the Harlequin ladybird website to report their findings.

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