The multicolored Asian lady beetle was repeatedly introduced to the United States as a biological control agent for aphids. It is believed that an accidental introduction in 1988, from an infested ship, is the source of all the Asian lady beetles now found in the U.S.

This beetle was noticed in New Orleans in 1988. By 1993, it had spread through Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida and as far north as New Hampshire. It is now found throughout much of the United States.