Lost Ladybug Project
{{short description|Nonprofit organization in the USA focused on promoting citizen science}}
{{Infobox non-profit
|organization_name = Lost Ladybug Project
|organization_type = Non-profit
NGO
|founded = 2000 in Ithaca, New York
|location = Ithaca, New York, United States
|area_served = United States
|focus = Conservation, education
|homepage = {{URL|www.lostladybug.org}}
}}
The Lost Ladybug Project is a nonprofit organization in the USA focused on promoting citizen science and science education to children.{{cite web |url = http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2012/11/citizen-science-the-lost-ladybug-project.html |title = Citizen Science: The Case of the Lost Ladybugs |last1 = Monosson |first1 = Rachel |date = 29 November 2012|publisher = Sierra Club |accessdate = 19 March 2013}}
- {{cite web |url= http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/thedirt/article/Help-Lost-Ladybug-Project-track-bug-eating-beetles-2353372.php |title = Help Lost Ladybug Project track bug-eating beetles |last1 = Eaton |first1 = Joe |last2 = Sullivan |first2 = Ron |date = 24 July 2011 |work = San Francisco Chronicle|publisher = |accessdate = 19 March 2013}} Its mission is "to help children become confident and competent participants in science, identifying personally with science, so that we develop a generation of adults who are engaged in scientific discussions, policy, and thinking."{{cite web |url = http://www.lostladybug.org |title = About the Lost Ladybug Project |author = |year = 2013 |publisher = Lost Ladybug Project |accessdate = 19 March 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181102040004/http://lostladybug.org/ |archive-date = 2 November 2018 |url-status = dead }}
History
The Lost Ladybug Project was founded in 2000 when researchers from Cornell University worked with the 4-H Master Gardener program to survey ladybug populations across New York. With the discovery of a rare nine-spotted ladybug in 2006, the Lost Ladybug Project developed research methods and a database to log ladybug observations.{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/26/AR2010072605500.html |title = Lost Ladybug Project helps scientists understand insect's decline |last1 = McLaughlin |first1 = Moira |date = 27 July 2010 |newspaper = The Washington Post|publisher = |accessdate = 19 March 2013}} Granted funding from the National Science Foundation in 2008, the Lost Ladybug Project has counted over 34,000 ladybugs{{Cite news|url=http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/you-can-help-save-ladybugs|title=Where have all the ladybugs gone?|newspaper=Mother Nature Network|access-date=14 October 2016}} since its inception and is now a nationwide project.{{cite web |url = https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116926&org=NSF |title = Lost Ladybugs Found Again in South Dakota |author = |date = 21 May 2010 |publisher = National Science Foundation |accessdate = 19 March 2013}}
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{{cite web |url = http://www.golocalworcester.com/lifestyle/find-lost-ladybugs-at-wachusett-meadow/ |title = Find Lost Ladybugs at Wachusett Meadow |last1 = Eides |first1 = Rachel |date = 25 July 2012 |work =GoLocalWorcester |publisher = |accessdate = 19 March 2013}} Researchers and citizen scientists from across North America submit photographs to the Lost Ladybug Project to help track different ladybug species.