--- title: Pesticides: Flightless Ladybugs Bred as Bio Alternative description: Japanese researchers use selective breeding to develop a non-flying ladybug that is used as a "biopesticide." canonical: https://time.com/3110016/ladybug-biopesticide-pesticide-aphid-japan-agriculture/ author: Melissa Hellmann article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-14T07:27:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:39:38.578Z article:section: Science og:title: Nature's newest pesticide: The flightless ladybug og:description: They do the job chemicals used to do og:url: https://time.com/3110016/ladybug-biopesticide-pesticide-aphid-japan-agriculture/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c2869c01bb5385/69869f7b3bc99980951a4e6b/4519430941.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2677 og:image:height: 1506 og:image:alt: Ancient Silk Town Paves Way For Japans Abandoned Rice Fields og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nature's newest pesticide: The flightless ladybug twitter:description: They do the job chemicals used to do twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c2869c01bb5385/69869f7b3bc99980951a4e6b/4519430941.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Japanese Farmers Just Got a New Pesticide: The Flightless Ladybug > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Aug 14, 2014 7:27 AM UTC  A rice farmer works in a paddy field in Yabu City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. A rice farmer works in a paddy field in Yabu City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Aug 14, 2014 7:27 AM UTC Researchers in Japan have [discovered](http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001459206) a way to selectively breed flightless ladybugs to be used as a “biopesticide” — a natural alternative to chemical pesticides. Ladybugs have long been considered natural pest-control for gardens and crops, but their ability to fly away encouraged many agriculturalists to instead rely on chemical pesticides that are harmful to the environment. After several generations of being exposed to chemicals, many pests have also been known to develop pesticide resistance. In an effort to create a practical biopesticide, Tomokazu Seko, a researcher from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization in Fukuyama, Japan, conducted research on 400 ladybugs from the _Harmonia axyridis_ species. After selective breeding over 30 generations, he was finally able to develop a non-flying ladybug. A company in Ibaraki Prefecture has started selling the flightless ladybug as a biopesticide for indoor use. [According](http://www.biopesticideindustryalliance.org/2014/08/japanese-develop-a-ladybug-thats-a-biopesticide/) to a statement from the Biopesticide Industry Alliance, the ladybug has already reduced over 90% of the pest-damage to Japanese mustard spinach. “The best part is that you can see the ladybugs working with your own eyes,” Seko told the _Japan News_. \[[_Japan News_](http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001459206)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3110016/ladybug-biopesticide-pesticide-aphid-japan-agriculture/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3110016/ladybug-biopesticide-pesticide-aphid-japan-agriculture/"},"headline":"Japanese Farmers Just Got a New Pesticide: The Flightless Ladybug","datePublished":"2014-08-14T07:27:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:39:38.578Z","description":"Ladybugs can do the work that nasty chemicals used to","url":"https://time.com/3110016/ladybug-biopesticide-pesticide-aphid-japan-agriculture/","keywords":["Environment","Agriculture","Japan","bugs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c2869c01bb5385/69869f7b3bc99980951a4e6b/4519430941.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Hellmann","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c2869c01bb5385/69869f7b3bc99980951a4e6b/4519430941.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ancient Silk Town Paves Way For Japans Abandoned Rice Fields","caption":"Ancient Silk Town Paves Way For Japans Abandoned Rice Fields","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3110016/ladybug-biopesticide-pesticide-aphid-japan-agriculture/","name":"Japanese Farmers Just Got a New Pesticide: The Flightless Ladybug"}}]}] ```