Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle

Harmonia axyridis.

As you might have gathered from the common name, this critter is native to Asia. Is was introduced for pest control, a job at which it excels. Although it can swarm in large enough numbers that it is sometimes thought to be the pest. Especially when it masses on buildings, looking for a warm place to spend the winter. I counted several dozen on my house when I took these shots (none in the house yet).

The canonical "ladybug" form, orange with black spots (I count 19 spots).

The plain orange morph (look closely and you'll see a single spot, with no doubt a matching one on the other side).

And if you scroll down a bit on the page at that link you'll see this critter's eggs.

Which look very similar to the eggs shown here.

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It is thought, but not yet proved, that these ladybugs are displacing native lady beetles as well as other predatory insects. The Lost Ladybug Project is a citizen science endeavor, based at Cornell University, that is studying this issue. It started as a project to determine why Ninespotted Ladybugs had disappeared from New York (they were the 'lost ladybugs') but has since expanded to investigate ladybugs in general. You can help by taking pictures of ladybugs you find and uploading them to their site, with info about where and when you found the bugs. I upload my shots and will be on the lookout for more (hopefully natives).

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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.