Newswise — South Dakota State University entomologist Mike Catangui and USDA research entomologist Louis Hesler are calling elementary-aged children around the country to become junior biologists as they search for rare ladybugs. Catangui and Hesler are leading researchers in South Dakota for the Lost Ladybug Project.
The Project began at Cornell University with lead investigator John Losey and is spreading across the nation as more and more researchers and children are on the lookout for rare lady beetles.
The $2 million, National Science Foundation grant funds a project divided among four institutions. SDSU will receive $450,000 over three years.
Lady beetles, commonly called ladybugs or ladybirds, are especially important to agricultural states like South Dakota to provide a free service to farmers and gardeners because they eat insects that can reduce crop yields.
Since the 1970s, however, lady beetles native to the United States have been disappearing quickly. In South Dakota, researchers are looking for nine-spotted, two-spotted and transverse lady beetles.
The reason for the decline is still unknown, but researchers suspect that the swelling populations of non-native, Asian lady beetles may have something to do with it. Researchers do not yet know the full effects of the ladybugs' disappearance, according to Catangui.
On June 18, Catangui and Hesler found a pair of nine-spotted, or C9, lady beetles in the Badlands National Park, a species that has not been seen in South Dakota for more than 30 years. And now the search is on for more nine-spotted ladybugs.
The Lost Ladybug Project has two components. First, insect conservation research proves technical and involves entomologists and graduate students around the nation investigating conservation, biodiversity and invasive insect species, such as the Asian beetle. A second part encourages elementary-aged children to participate in a citizen science component.
The Lost Ladybug Project is partnering with 4-H Youth Development; rural, Native American and urban youth groups; various public and private schools; and after-school youth programs. Researchers also encourage all children to help the effort.
Visit http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/icb344/Lost_Ladybugs.htm for information on the project.
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