Ohlone tiger beetle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ohlone tiger beetle |
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Cicindela
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C. ohlone
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| Cicindela ohlone Freitag & Cavanaugh, 1993
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The Ohlone tiger beetle (scientific name: Cicindela ohlone) is a special insect found only in California. It was first discovered in 1987 and officially named in 1993. This beetle belongs to a group called Cicindela and is a close relative of another beetle, C. purpurea.
Ohlone tiger beetles are about 9.5 to 12.5 millimeters long, which is roughly the size of a small button. Female beetles are usually a bit larger than males. Their bodies are a bright, shiny green, with hints of bronze on their backs and wing covers (called elytra). You can tell them apart from other similar beetles because they are bigger, have different body shapes, and are active at different times of the year.
Contents
Where Ohlone Tiger Beetles Live
The Ohlone tiger beetle lives only in Santa Cruz County, California. This area is the southernmost place where tiger beetles from the purpurea group are found. They live in specific places called coastal terraces. These are flat areas near the ocean.
These beetles need open spaces in native California coastal prairie grasslands. The soil in these areas is usually clay or sandy clay over a type of rock called Santa Cruz mudstone. This soil gets very hard in late spring and summer. This hard ground is important for the beetles to find food, mate, and lay their eggs.
Life Cycle and What Ohlone Tiger Beetles Eat
Ohlone tiger beetles usually complete their entire life cycle in two years, though sometimes it can happen in just one year. After a female beetle mates, she lays her eggs a few millimeters under the ground.
When an egg hatches, a larva (a young beetle) comes out. This larva digs a burrow (a tunnel) in the ground. The larva waits in its burrow and eats any small creatures that pass by. After growing, the larva changes into a pupa, which is like a resting stage. Finally, it becomes an adult beetle and comes out of the burrow.
What They Eat
Ohlone tiger beetles are predators, which means they hunt and eat other small creatures. They mostly eat different kinds of arthropods (insects and similar creatures). They catch their food in two ways:
- They can chase their prey quickly, stopping and starting.
- They can wait in shady spots and grab prey with their strong jaws (called mandibles) when it gets close.
Who Eats Them
Birds, lizards, and other insects often hunt tiger beetles. However, scientists are still learning if these same animals hunt the Ohlone tiger beetle. To escape danger, adult beetles can fly away quickly or run very fast. They also have excellent eyesight to spot predators.
Young tiger beetle larvae are hunted by woodpeckers, ants, and wasps that live on the ground. Some of their most important predators are parasitoid wasps and flies. These insects lay their eggs inside the tiger beetle larvae. When the wasp or fly eggs hatch, their larvae eat the tiger beetle larva. Then, the new wasp or fly adults come out of the burrow.
When They Are Active
Unlike most other tiger beetle species that are active in summer or in spring and fall, the Ohlone tiger beetle is active during the late winter and spring. This makes them unique!
Why Ohlone Tiger Beetles Are Endangered
On October 3, 2001, the Ohlone tiger beetle was officially listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This means it is in danger of disappearing forever. Several things threaten these beetles:
Loss of Habitat
One big problem is that their homes are being destroyed or broken into smaller pieces. This happens because of new buildings and towns. The beetles need specific open grasslands on coastal terraces with firm soil. These same areas are also great for building homes with ocean views. Because of this, much of the beetle's habitat has already been built on or is at risk.
Invading Plants
Another threat is that non-native plants are growing into the beetle's habitat. These plants create thick, shady areas. Ohlone tiger beetles need low, sparse plants with lots of open spaces to find food and lay eggs. If these non-native plants are not controlled, the beetles will likely disappear from many places where they live now. These invading plants also change the number of predators, prey, and parasites that live in the area.
Other Dangers
- Collecting: Some people collect tiger beetles because they are pretty and come in many colors. This can harm their populations.
- Recreational Use: Paths used by hikers and mountain bikers are also used by the beetles for hunting and mating. Beetles and their burrows can be crushed by people or bikes on these paths.
- Pesticides: Chemicals used by landowners to kill pests can be carried by air or water and accidentally kill the beetles.
Because of all these threats, the Fish and Wildlife Service decided that the Ohlone tiger beetle needed protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Helping Ohlone Tiger Beetles Survive
People are working to help the Ohlone tiger beetle. Here are some of the things being done:
Protecting Habitats
One group of Ohlone tiger beetles lives in a grassland area called Marshall field at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Trails in this area are used by both the beetles and mountain bikers. Since 2003, during the beetle's mating season, temporary fences have been put up to close off trails on nearby California State Parks' land. This helps protect the beetles.
Managing Vegetation
On both the UC Santa Cruz campus and State Parks' land, controlled burns (small, planned fires) have been used. These fires help reduce the number of dense plants. This creates more open spaces that the beetles need to live.
The City of Santa Cruz has also brought back cattle grazing on its Moore Creek Preserve. The rancher in charge makes sure the cattle graze in a way that helps restore the Ohlone tiger beetle's habitat.
Challenges to Conservation
Even with legal protection, some landowners have made it harder to protect the species. For example, some have removed cattle grazing, which can reduce habitat quality. Others have allowed people to trespass and damage the habitat. One private landowner even developed a vineyard on important beetle habitat just before the species was listed as endangered.
Even some park agencies have accidentally caused problems. One agency spread gravel over areas where beetle larvae lived, trying to "improve" trails. Another agency stopped helpful management practices, which led to a beetle population disappearing from that area.
These actions have been reported to agencies that are supposed to protect endangered species. However, these agencies have not always taken strong action to stop the harm. This makes it difficult to know if the Ohlone tiger beetle can truly be saved from extinction.
Images for kids
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An Ohlone tiger beetle.
