Students in Ambrose University’s Principles of Ecology course netted a rare surprise, quite literally, last fall when a tiny, rare ladybird beetle no bigger than the size of two pinheads crawled out of a collection net.
The group had ventured out to the wooded area only five minutes from campus to gather a variety of insects for biodiversity analysis when they found not one, but two, tiny Hyperaspis undulata. While many of this particular native-Alberta species may live in the province, only five or six have been found and confirmed.
