| 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 |
The Lost Ladybug Project is a nonprofit organization in the USA focused on promoting citizen science and science education to children.[1] 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."[2]
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.[2] [3] Granted funding from the National Science Foundation in 2008, the Lost Ladybug Project has counted over 34,000 ladybugs[4] since its inception and is now a nationwide project.[5] Researchers and citizen scientists from across North America submit photographs to the Lost Ladybug Project to help track different ladybug species.