Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and its parasite in south-western Bulgaria and northern Greece

Samples of the invasive harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) were collected in June 2017 in four localities in western Bulgaria and three localities in northern Greece. Established (reproducing) populations of H. axyridis were found in each of the surveyed localities and were commonly infected with a fungal ectoparasite, Hesperomyces virescens (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniales). This parasite was recorded on 33% and 22% of the collected old-generation H. axyridis males and females, respectively. Our findings represent the first records of established H. axyridis populations for Greece and the first records of H. virescens for Bulgaria.