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Scientists Delve into Ladybug Mystery
from the Washington Post (Registration Required)
ITHACA, N.Y. (Associated Press)—The nine-spotted ladybug was considered so common, charismatic and crop-friendly that it was adopted in 1989 as New York's official state insect.
As it turns out, the species may have disappeared from the state nearly two decades before that. Recent surveys in New York and the Northeast have found none of the once-ubiquitous beetles entomologists call Coccinella novemnotata-or C-9, for short.
The decline of C-9 and other native ladybugs happened so quickly and precipitously that scientists have launched a nationwide project to try to understand why some species have all but vanished while others have greatly increased their numbers and range.
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