the Lost Ladybug Project
The non-native seven-spotted ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, captured by Dave Campbell. Are introduced coccinellids the reason for such a decline in our native North American fauna?
I just heard an interview with John Losey on NPR about their recently funded Lost Ladybug Project (story here). The idea is to recruit young citizen scientists to help look for rare and endangered ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae), especially the nine spotted ladybird beetle (Coccinella novemnotata). The species was a great biological control agent but has declined drastically since the 1980's.
I love these kinds of projects that draw in non-specialists. We at the Insect Museum have been developing our own strategy for recruiting the citizens of North Carolina to help us monitor threatened insects. Worldwide there have been noted declines in bees (especially bumble bees, Bombus spp.), ladybird beetles, and dragonflies (Odonata). Our state also hosts two endangered terrestrial invertebrates: the Saint Francis' Satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii) and the spruce-fir moss spider (Microhexura montivaga). The more people we can recruit to image and document the health of these and other insect species, the more informed we'll be regarding conservation decisions and future research.
Other examples of citizen scientist projects I've seen on the Web include BeeSpotter (University of Illinois) and NYC Bee Watchers (American Museum of Natural History). I'm sure there are more. It would be awesome to get all of these initiatives linked up into a supersite that provides as many observations as the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's eBird site. Exciting stuff!
Exciting stuff indeed but I hope that those who will help will be asking the question WHY? - why are bugs in serious decline? I asked Professor Art Shapiro last year if the 24 hour day would affect his beloved butterflies. He said that they would be "devastated"! Professor Gerhard Eisenbeis tells us that light at night "sucks insects from habitat areas like a vacuum cleaner". I could say so much more but I believe that we are living a myth believing that species decline is mysterious. In the 24 hour day insects suffer the permanent stress of the equivalent of "jet lag". They cannot complain. They just die out and their predators die from starvation?
Posted by Graham Cliff on July 06, 2008 at 07:42 AM EDT #
I lived in africa for many years and noticed insects attracted to lighting fixtures in the school were I worked. Locally the area resembled daylight. Not only were nocturnal insects attracted to the lights, but I observed diurnal insects such as bees, muscid flies, dragonflies, grasshoppers and cicadas attracted as well. If the lighting is so intense as to resemble daylight, then these insects will be affected and their behaviour patterns likewise. They will then be killed of, and insect diversity will decline. It is time to change our attitudes towards lighting as it is very damaging. Consequently it should only be applied sparingly, on a needs must basis, when needed, where needed, and in the correct amounts.
Posted by Colin Henshaw on July 06, 2008 at 08:19 AM EDT #