Cicindela albissima
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Cicindela albissima'', commonly called the Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle is a species of
tiger beetle Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, ''Rivacindela hudsoni'', can run at a speed of , or about 125 body lengths per second. ...
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a state park in southwestern Utah, United States, located between Mount Carmel Junction and Kanab, south and west of U.S. Highway 89 in Kane County. The park features uniquely pink-hued sand dunes located b ...
in southern
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was originally described by Rumpp in 1962 as the
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
''Cicindela limbata albissima'', but
mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
, along with the species' morphological and geographical distinctiveness, have shown that it is a separate species. ''C. albissima'' can be distinguished from other ''Cicindela'' species by its restricted range and lack of pigmentation on its
elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
.


Adults

Adults are to long and to wide, while females are generally larger than males. The
thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...
is brown to bronze in color, while the
elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
have reduced pigmentation and are white in color. Adults primarily eat flies and other arthropods found on the dunes. They also scavenge on dead arthropods blown onto the dunes from surrounding habitats. Adults begin to emerge from the larval stage in March and reach their peak abundance in mid-April to early May. Adult populations decline through June and disappear by July. Mating and egg laying occur from the time adults emerge in mid-March until they die by July. Some adults can be continue to be found from late August to early October. Adults are usually active on warm or sunny days. They dig burrows that they use at night and during unfavorable weather. Little evidence of parasitism has been observed on both adults and larvae. Throughout their lives, most adults move only small distances, typically less than , although some have been observed to move up to .


Larvae

After first matings occur in early spring, first
instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
larvae begin to appear in late spring, usually completing the first instar by late May to June. Most individuals reach second instars by mid summer, and third instars are reached in fall. Larvae hibernate during the winter before emerging as adults the following spring. Larvae are sedentary and live in permanent burrows and feed by using their mandibles to catch arthropods that pass by the mouth of their burrows.


Distribution

''Cicindela albissima'' is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to twenty percent of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, which are within
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a state park in southwestern Utah, United States, located between Mount Carmel Junction and Kanab, south and west of U.S. Highway 89 in Kane County. The park features uniquely pink-hued sand dunes located b ...
in Kane County,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. Its occupied habitat is about long by wide. The dunes are about west of
Kanab Kanab ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, Kane County, Utah, United States.Find a Co ...
, and their southern extent is less than north of the
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
border.


Conservation

''Cicindela albissima'' has been proposed to be listed as under the
Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...
. It was previously considered a subspecies of ''Cicindela limbata'', but it is over from any other populations of ''C. limbata''. Its geographic isolation,
mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
, and morphological differences, particularly the coloration of the elytra and body size, led it to be considered a distinct species. In 2012, the population of ''C. albissima'' was estimated to be 1786 individuals, up from 1116 in 2011. Since annual population surveys began in 1998, the population reached a peak of 2944 in 2002 and a minimum of 558 in 2005. Rainfall is the primary factor controlling the population of ''C. albissima'', and drought is the most severe threat to the species. Off-road vehicle activity has degraded the beetle's habitat, particularly the interdunal swales, which are the habitat where most larvae are found. Vegetation damaged by off-road vehicles can lead to degraded larval habitat and reduced prey abundance. A conservation area in which off-road vehicle use is prohibited has been established and covers approximately 80 percent of the beetle's suitable habitat. The conservation area encompassed 87 percent of the beetle's population in 2012, significantly more than in previous years, likely due to the establishment of the conservation area and increased protections within it.


References


External links


''Cicindela albissima''.
NatureServe. 2012. {{Taxonbar, from=Q13467663 albissima Endemic fauna of Utah Beetles of North America Insects of the United States Critically endangered fauna of the United States Beetles described in 1962