@article {1379950, title = {Mortality of native and invasive ladybirds co-infected by ectoparasitic and entomopathogenic fungi.}, journal = {Zoological Science}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Harmonia axyridis\ is an invasive alien ladybird in North America and Europe. Studies show that multiple natural enemies are using\ Ha. axyridis\ as a new host. However, thus far, no research has been undertaken to study the effects of simultaneous infection by multiple natural enemies on\ Ha. axyridis. We hypothesized that high thallus densities of the ectoparasitic fungus\ Hesperomyces virescens\ on a ladybird weaken the host{\textquoteright}s defenses, thereby making it more susceptible to infection by other natural enemies. We examined mortality of the North American-native\ Olla v-nigrum\ and\ Ha. axyridis\ co-infected with\ He. virescens\ and an entomopathogenic fungus{\textemdash}either\ Beauveria bassiana\ or\ Metarhizium brunneum. Laboratory assays revealed that\ He. virescens-infected\ O. v-nigrum\ individuals are more susceptible to entomopathogenic fungi, but\ Ha. axyridis\ does not suffer the same effects. This is in line with the enemy release hypothesis, which predicts that invasive alien species in new geographic areas experience reduced regulatory effects from natural enemies compared to native species. Considering our results, we can ask how\ He. virescens\ affects survival when confronted by other pathogens that previously had little impact on\ Ha. axyridis. View Infographic here}, url = {https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10110}, author = {Haelewaters, D. and Hiller, T. and Kemp, E.A and van Wielink, P.S. and Shapiro-Ilan, D.I. and Aime, M. C. and Nedved, O. and Pfister, D.H. and Cottrell, T.E.} }