18/06/2026
🔬 New publication from the Musée national d'histoire naturelle Luxembourg - Naturmusée
Our scientific collaborator Carl-Axel Gertsson and our zoological curator Dr Alexander Weigand have just published the first record in Luxembourg of the ivy scale insect Aspidiotus hedericola – a tiny species usually found in Mediterranean regions that is now spreading further north.
🌿 The insect lives on common ivy (Hedera helix) and has already been found at several locations in Luxembourg. But how widespread is it really?
📖 Read the publication:
https://doi.org/10.59513/snl.2026.128.003
🔎 Help us map the ivy scale insect across Luxembourg – we need you!
If you notice suspicious white or yellowish spots on ivy in your garden or neighbourhood, please take a photo and upload your observation to iNaturalist Luxembourg. Every observation helps us better understand the distribution of this species and monitor its spread.
Some of the first records in the publication (and a few more) already come from iNaturalist.lu, showing that we’re already using data shared by the public.
📸 Your observations can make a real contribution to biodiversity research.
https://www.inaturalist.lu
📸1: Habitat of Aspidiotus hedericola in the municipal city park of Luxembourg-City.
Photo: C.-A. Gertsson (26.12.25)
2: Large population of Aspidiotus hedericola on common ivy (13.09.2024, Luxembourg-Grund). Photo: T. Helminger via iNaturalist.
3: Adult females of Aspidiotus hedericola on
common ivy (08.08.2025, Bissen). Photo: L. Burton.