Welcome to our ongoing effort to catalog citizen science and other public participation in scientific research (PPSR) projects for UC California Naturalists and other citizen scientists. We invite you to browse the listed projects or enter key words (like birds, youth, invasive, coast, Alameda, etc.) in the search box above to find projects in your area. It's a great way to stay involved and keep developing your skills as a natural scientist!
A vast majority of the information in the database was gathered from project websites and may be out of date. We encourage you to contact projects directly to get involved and learn about most recent opportunities. If you work with a listed project and would like to add to, update, or correct the information we have, please email cghdixon@ucdavis.edu. Also, please consider filling out the "PPSR perspectives" survey. Click here to access the survey, which will help guide this project in the coming year.
If you know of a project not on our list, please go to the "tell us about a project" link on the left so we can list the project here. Thanks for your help!
Special thanks goes to the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education program and the Stephen J. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation for supporting this database of projects.
Lost Ladybug Project
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Organization NameThe Department of Entomology at Cornell University
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Project Website
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Organization Website
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PartnersN / A
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Contact NameJohn Losey, Associate Professor, Cornell University
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Contact EmailJEL27@cornell.edu
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Contact Phone607-255-7376
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Other Contact Information
Leslie Allee, Research Associate, Cornell University
607-255-8486
LLA1@cornell.edu
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Project Purpose (taken from project materials)
We're asking you to join us in finding out where all the ladybugs have gone so we can try to prevent more native species from becoming so rare.
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Participant Activities
1. Go out and find ladybugs. 2. Photograph them! 3. Upload your digital images using our submission form or mail us photos, along with the time, date, location, and habitat. 4. Return ladybugs to the wild.
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Data Entry
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Website
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Cell Phone
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Other
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Other Participant ActivitiesN / A
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System Studied
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Invertebrates
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Geographic ScopeNational
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RegionAll (see 'geographic scope')
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LocationGardens, fields, flower beds anywhere you might find them.
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Location - Map159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
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Time Commitment
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Other (see Other Information below)
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Volunteer Qualifications
Need to have access to a digital camera or smart phone to capture photos and then upload to a website. Young children will require some adult supervision.
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Volunteer TrainingN / A
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Cost to Participant
Minimal if you have a digital camera and a computer or a smart phone.
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How will the findings be used?N / A
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Other Information
Over the past twenty years several native ladybugs that were once very common have become extremely rare. During this same time ladybugs from other places have greatly increased both their numbers and range. Some ladybugs are simply found in new places. This is happening very quickly and we don’t know how, or why, or what impact it will have on ladybug diversity or the role that ladybugs play in keeping plant-feeding insect populations low. We're asking you to join us in finding out where all the ladybugs have gone so we can try to prevent more native species from becoming so rare.
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Photo
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last update:N / A
If you work with this project and would like to add to or update the information below, please email cghdixon@ucdavis.edu.
If you know of a project not on our list, please go to the "tell us about a project" link on the left so we can list the project here. Thanks for your help!
This database is focused on projects in California focused on the environment. For opportunities outside California, as well as national projects that don't have a California-specific components, check http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects.