Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) has perhaps become the most infamous of invasive alien insects in the twenty-first century (Roy and Majerus 2010). Native to Asia, since 1916 H. axyridis has been released as a biological control agent of aphids and coccids in various parts of the world (Brown et al. 2011; Belyakova and Polikarpova 2012). In 1988 the species began to establish and propagate in the wild (Chapin and Brou 1991). H. axyridis causes negative ecological and economic consequences: (1) its spread caused the decline of populations of native ladybird species (Roy et al. 2012); (2) it has become a significant pest of fruit production and wine production (Koch and Galvan 2008); (3) it is a nuisance that infests houses and other buildings in large numbers when searching for overwintering sites (Koch and Galvan 2008).

In the last 25 years H. axyridis has established in Europe, North America, South America, and Africa (Brown et al. 2011). In Europe this ladybird was first recorded in the wild in the late 1990s in France and Germany, and since 2002 its range has rapidly expanded (Brown et al. 2008). Between 2006 and 2010 it established in at least 12 countries of Eastern Europe (Brown et al. 2011). According to our data, the European part of the range is continuing to expand eastwards. Here, a review of records of H. axyridis from European Russia, Northern Caucasus, Lithuania, Latvia, and the Ukraine is given (Fig. 1, Table 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Distribution of H. axyridis in Latvia, Lithuania, the Ukraine, European Russia, and the Northern Caucasus. Black dots indicate localities where the species has established, white dots localities, where individual specimens have been found. Numbers of localities correspond to the table below

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Table 1 Localities where H. axyridis was found in the eastern part of its European range
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Harmonia axyridis has become established in the Baltic region. First, in August 2009, adults and larvae of this species were observed in great numbers in the south of Latvia (Barševskis 2009). Then, in 2010, many specimens were recorded in the city of Kaliningrad (Russia) (Zakharov et al. 2011), with many more found in different parts of Kaliningrad in August and September 2011 (Alekseev et al. 2012). In summer 2012 H. axyridis was recorded not only in Kaliningrad, but also in Russian parts of Vistula Spit and Curonian Spit. The species was also found in the Lithuanian part of Curonian Spit (Nagrockaitė et al. 2011). Adults of H. axyridis occur in the Baltic region from April to October (Alekseev, personal communication), so they successfully overwinter there.

From 1964 H. axyridis was released in the western Ukraine (Chernovtsy oblast) as an agent of biological control, but it did not become established (Voronin 1971). In 2003 a few specimens of H. axyridis var. spectabilis were collected in the Ukraine, in the city of Kiev (Verizhnikova and Shylova 2013). At that time other documented parts of the European range were very far from the Ukraine: the species was found only in France, Greece, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England (Brown et al. 2011). It is likely that the specimens found in the wild in the Ukraine in 2003 were descended from the beetles released in this country.

The oldest known established population in the Ukraine exists in the village of Martusovka, near Kiev. H. axyridis has been recorded there since 2007 (Verizhnikova and Shylova 2013). Recently H. axyridis has become a common species in the center of the country. About 3,500 specimens of this species were recorded in 49 localities in the vicinity of Kiev (Tytar and Nekrasova 2012). Spread of H. axyridis in this region has caused the dramatic decline of populations of native ladybird species Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Verizhnikova 2011). H. axyridis has established in at least 10 oblasts of the Ukraine (see Table 1). In summer 2011 an established population was found in the vicinity of Nikolaev, where several specimens were captured in light traps (V. V. Strenado, personal communication). Additionally, in July 2013 an established population was found in Crimea, in the vicinity of Alushta, where many specimens were captured on the leaves of Mimosa pudica (E. V. Rybalchenko, personal communication). These are the first records of H. axyridis from Nikolaev oblast and Crimea (the Ukraine).

From the 1930s to 2010 H. axyridis was released in the Caucasus (Belyakova and Polikarpova 2012), but there was no evidence of establishment until recently. In 2006 the first specimen of H. axyridis was found in the Northern Caucasus, namely in Adyghe Republic (Ukrainsky and Shapovalov 2010). In 2011 the species appeared in Krasnodar Territory (Ukrainsky 2013), then in 2012 an established population was found in the vicinity of Sochi (T. A. Mogilevich, personal communication; Belyakova and Polikarpova 2012). According to our own observations, in 2013 H. axyridis not only established in the vicinity of Sochi, but also became the most abundant species of coccinellid there.

Two specimens of H. axyridis were found in Iglino district in Bashkir Republic (14.10.1981 and 14.7.2007), far from both secondary and native areas (Khabibullin et al. 2004, 2009, and personal communication by Khabibullin). The specimens belong to the colour form H. axyridis var. axyridis, which occurs very rarely in European populations. There is still no evidence of an established population there, and probably, individual beetles arrived in this region with produce. Transport of H. axyridis with fruit, vegetables and flowers was documented in various European countries (Brown et al. 2011).

In 2004 one specimen identified as H. axyridis was found near the railway station of Shebekino in Belgorod oblast (Binkovskaya 2004 and personal communication by Binkovskaya). However, the specimen was lost, so it is impossible to confirm the identification. In August 2012 one female of H. axyridis was found in Borisovka district of Belgorod oblast (Orlova-Bienkowskaja 2013), quite close to the Ukrainian border; and in October 2012 one female was captured in Lipetsk oblast. [H. axyridis var. succinea, with elytral ridge, captured by light trap on the bank of Don river near the village of Leski, Krasnoe district, Lipetsk oblast, 17.10.2012, leg. S. G. Mazurov. This specimen is deposited in the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University]. The latter locality is situated 300 km northeast of the former and is the first record of H. axyridis from Lipetsk oblast (European Russia).

The spread of H. axyridis to Eastern Europe was predicted by an ecological model (Poutsma et al. 2008) and this prognosis is quickly being realized. The established populations appeared in the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia, Kaliningrad oblast), the Northern Caucasus, and the Ukraine. Excluding the enclave of Russia in the Baltic region, only individual specimens of H. axyridis have been collected in European Russia. Thus there is still no evidence of established populations in the main part of European Russia. However, the ecological model and recent eastward expansion of the range of this species indicate that H. axyridis will become common in the south of European Russia. There are still no records of H. axyridis from Moldova and Belarus, but it is likely that this invader will soon be found there, since it occurs in all adjacent countries.