'Lost' Ladybugs Found Again in South Dakota Research
entomologist Louis Hesler takes readers along as he and others
search for types of ladybugs that were once common but have
become extremely rare in eastern North America May 21, 2010 I
was frustrated. I had been searching for years for the so-called
"lost ladybugs," but hadn't found any. It was 2008, and only a
few had been found by anyone in the last three decades, although
they were once common in many areas, especially crop fields such
as wheat and alfalfa. There are actually hundreds of kinds of
ladybugs, but three in particular--the two-spotted, nine-spotted
and transverse ladybugs--seemed to have vanished from the
landscape of eastern South Dakota. Research scientists publish
findings from their observations and experiments. So, I began to
question myself. "How can I, as a scientist, publish my findings
of 'no findings?'" I wondered if maybe my methods and approach
were wrong. I had been working from three hunches about the fate
of lost ladybugs. Firs