Where have the Ladybugs gone?

I just read in the paper today that Ladybugs have disappeared from New York state. I remember last year, the strange little larva were all over the place, nothing this year in NJ either. So where did they go?

When I lived in CA, I came across millions of them coming out of their winter sleep on a Spring day. There were so many it seemed as if the plants and tree trunks were painted in red along a creek. We were curious so we got out of the car and climbed down to the creek. We were amazed to see what had to be millions of ladybugs inches thick on everything. All was fine until the sun hit and they really began to move, taking to the air and crawling on everything including us. Evidently they are very hungry after a long winter sleep so they were well, nibbling. Like some wierd SCI FI movie we ran to our cars!

I also found another location outside of Volcano CA one late summer day. They were flying in to begin hibernation. They were also falling or as it seemed raining ladybugs.

So where have they gone, has some unscrupulous person or persons found their hibernation locations and killed millions thinking them as an infestation? Or have they succumbed to some unknown disease since they hibernate together, killing them like the bats in the northeast?

So rescueing a ladybug may have new meaninig these days, not only is it an old kids story and supposed to give good luck, but you may just be saving them for real.