In Russel Barsh’s recent article about lady bugs, he wrote “One cosmopolitan North American species, Hippodamia convergens, is easily raised in captivity and is most likely to be sold to gardeners.”

The species of Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens) is actually wild collected from sites in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and there has been a moratorium on collecting to the best of my knowledge due to drought and fires. Please see the attached references regarding this: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/BENEFICIAL/convergent_lady_beetle.html and https://biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/predators/Hippodamia.php#:~:text=Hippodamia%20convergens&text=This%20is%20one%20of%20the,by%20insectaries%20for%20aphid%20control.&text=Convergent%20lady%20beetle%20adults%20are,4%2D7%20mm%20in%20length

Sincerely,

Cynthia Brast-Bormann

San Juan Island