Harmonia eucharis (Mulsant) (=Ballia eucharis Mulsant, Ballia christophori Mulsant, Ballia dianae Mulsant, Ballia dianae var. saundersii Crotch, Ballia brahmae Mulsant, Ballia gustavi Mulsant, Ballia montivaga Mulsant, Ballia testacea Mulsant)

Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Coccinellinae: Coccinellini

Length 10.5 mm, width 7.7 mm. Form broad oval, moderately convex. Elytra pale yellowish brown, elytral pattern highly variable (see images below): pale yellowish with or without black spots, yellow with pale brown spots, pale brown with creamy yellow spots, yellow with basal two-thirds black, dark reddish brown with black lateral borders and other intermediate forms. Female spermatheca (Fig. 1), male genitalia (Figs. 2-4), and life stages as illustrated.

It is highly polymorphic, as evident from the numerous varieties and synonyms. Ghani (1962) carried out breeding experiments and found that the various morphs interbred freely and concluded they were only varieties or colour forms of a single species. He illustrated some of the colour morphs of H. eucharis (as Ballia eucharis). Singh & Phaloura (1990) provided a field key to the larva.

 Genitalia of H. eucharis: 1. Female spermatheca; 2-4. Male genitalia: 2. Tegmen, ventral view; 3. Tegmen, lateral view; 4. Sipho.

Life stages of Harmonia eucharis: 1. Eggs on silver fir; 2. Early instar larva; 3. Mature larva; 4. Pupa; 5. Adult

 Colour morphs of H. eucharis (from Ghani, 1962)

     
       Colour morphs of H. eucharis
 Larva of H. eucharis

India: Himachal Pradesh; Jammu & Kashmir; Meghalaya; Sikkim; Uttar Pradesh; northeastern region. Himalayas. Pakistan. Bhutan. Nepal.

HEMIPTERA: Aphidoidea: Aphis cf. fabae Scopoli, Aphis cf. gossypii Glover, Aphis spiraecola Patch, Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach), Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus), Cervaphis quercus Takahashi, Cervaphis rappardi indica Basu, Cinara sp., Dreyfusia (as Adelges) knucheli (Schneider-Orelli & Schneider), Dysaphis sp., Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann), Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy), Macrosiphoniella pseudoartemisiae Shinji, Mollitrichosiphum alni Ghosh et al., Myzus persicae (Sulzer), Myzus varians Davidson, Myzus sp., Phorodon cannabis Passerini, Pineus sp., Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (Linnaeus), Tuberculatus indicus Ghosh. Associated with Aphis craccivora Koch. Cicadellidae: Idioscopus shillongensis Viraktamath. Coccidae: Eulecanium tiliae (Linnaeus) (as E. coryli (Linnaeus)).

Associated with aphids and/or scales infesting apple, peach, plum, quince, apricot, almond, cherry and Spiraea sp.; adelgids infesting silver fir, blue pine, and spruce. Most prevalent in coniferous forests and oak farms in the northeastern region; associated with Juglans regia, Alnus nitida, Quercus incana, Q. dilatata, Litsea polyantha, and Clerodendron viscosum.

Nagarkatti & Ghani (1972), Ghosh et al. (1976), Chakrabarti et al. (1995) and Phaloura & Singh (1993) have studied its bioecology and predatory potential.

Active during late March-August in north and northwestern India. Has only one generation per year; adults hibernate during winter months in northwestern region (Nagarkatti & Ghani, 1972).

Phalacrotophora indiana Colyes (Diptera: Phoridae) and an indeterminate nematode (Nagarkatti & Ghani, 1972).