''Polyphylla barbata'' is a rare species of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

known by the common name Mount Hermon June beetle. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it occurs only in Santa Cruz County. There is only a single occurrence of the beetle on a stretch of territory of under . This is a federally listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

of the United States.''Polyphylla barbata''.
The Nature Conservancy. The beetle is about 2 centimeters long, black and brown in color with broken white longitudinal stripes on the back. The

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) 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 (sometime ...

are covered in a thin coat of hairs. The female is slightly larger than the male. The female spends most of her time underground, coming out only to mate with the male. USFWS
Zayante band-winged grasshopper and Mount Hermon June Beetle 5-Year Review.
August 2009. The male flies between mid-June and late July, being most active between 8:45 and 9:30 pm. His wings make a crackling sound as he flies.Hill, K. E. and R. O'Malley. (2009)
A picky palate? The host plant selection of an endangered June beetle.
''J Insect Conserv'' The insect is an underground dwelling

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

for most of its life cycle, and the adults may not feed at all. The larvae probably feed on plant rootsUSFWS
Determination of endangered status for two insects from the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.
''Federal Register'' January 24, 1997. and

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

l fungi. The life cycle may be 2 to 3 years, but the male beetle's adulthood may last only a week and the female probably dies shortly after laying eggs. This beetle was first described in 1938 from a specimen from Mount Hermon, California. It is limited to the Zayante sandhills, a region around Mount Hermon, Scotts Valley, and

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (, ), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossach ...

in the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...

. This region is also home to another endangered arthropod, the Zayante band-winged grasshopper (''Trimerotropis infantilis''). The habitat is

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

forest and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

with open, sandy areas forming pockets in the surrounding volcanic hills.''Polyphylla barbata''.
Essig Museum of Entomology, UC Berkeley. There are several rare, threatened plant species in the area, including the Ben Lomond wallflower (''Erysimum teretifolium''), the Ben Lomond spineflower (''Chorizanthe pungens'' ssp. ''hartwegiana''), and the Santa Cruz cypress (''Callitropsis abramsiana''). Over 40% of the Zayante sandhills region has been lost to human activity such as development and sand mining. Most of the home range of the beetle is in proximity to active sand mining operations.

Fire suppression Fire suppression may refer to: * Firefighting * Fire suppression systems * Wildfire suppression Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the availabl ...

has led to an alteration of the normal flora of the area, with fire-tolerant plants being replaced by other species.''Polyphylla barbata''.
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7226762 Polyphylla Endemic fauna of California ESA endangered species