Lady beetle survey training planned in Wayne County

Wayne County will serve as a host site for the 2026 Buckeye Lady Beetle Blitz Community Science Program Training.

The Buckeye Lady Beetle Blitz is a community science program that tracks the abundance and species richness of lady beetles across the state of Ohio. Unfortunately, many species of lady beetles have declined dramatically in recent decades, and we are monitoring the abundance of remaining populations.

We first conducted our survey from 2009-15 and would like to resample lady beetle populations 10 years later to see how they have changed.

Our program seeks volunteers who have a home garden (either a flower or food garden) and would be willing to collect lady beetles using a yellow sticky card trap in this garden over two weeks this summer (one week in June and August).

Workshop participants will learn about the results of our initial survey and be provided with the tools and training needed to contribute to the 2026 survey.

Wayne County is one of several host sites for this training. The Wayne County training will be held at 6 p.m. June 1 at the Secrest Arboretum Welcome and Education Center, 2122 Williams Road, Wooster. RSVPs are required to make sure we have enough materials, but the class is free. RSVPs can be made to the Wayne County Extension Office at 330-264-8722 or by emailing becker.587@osu.edu.

Did you know OSU Extension Wayne County has a quarterly agriculture and natural resources newsletter? The Wayne County Ag Quarterly is a research-based agricultural newsletter produced by Ohio State University Extension Wayne County and authored by extension educators John Yost and Frank Becker. The newsletter is designed to serve Wayne County crop and livestock producers, farm owners and operators, agribusiness professionals, and agricultural landowners seeking timely, practical and locally relevant information to support informed decision-making.

Newsletter content is based on OSU Extension and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center research while integrating local field observations, on-farm research and county-specific programming. Topics include soil health, crop and forage management, livestock nutrition and handling, integrated pest management, farm business analysis, and upcoming extension educational opportunities. New and recently revised fact sheets also are frequently included in this newsletter.

The goal of our Wayne County Ag Quarterly is to strengthen the connection between extension and the local agricultural community by providing consistent, credible and relevant communication. Our primary method of delivery is via email, but we also can send out printed editions for those who choose to receive hard copies.

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, call or email John Yost or Frank Becker at the Wayne County Extension Office at 330-264-8722 or yost.77@osu.edu or becker.587@osu.edu.

Frank Becker is the agriculture and natural resources extension educator with Ohio State University Extension Wayne County and a certified crop adviser and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or becker.587@osu.edu.