Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle
Photo Courtesy of United States Bureau of Land Management
Cicindela albissima
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G1
State (S-rank): S1
Utah Wildlife Action Plan status
- SGCN
External links
General information
The Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle, Cicindela albissima, is a rare insect that is limited to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes of Kane County in southern Utah. As its name implies, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle lives in sand dune habitat, with adults spending much of their time on the upper portions of the dunes and larvae mainly inhabiting interdunal swales. Females utilize the sand for oviposition, digging burrows with a back and forth motion of their mandibles and legs. Males may help in this endeavor by contact guarding, stabilizing her body by holding her with his mandibles. Adults spend their days hunting arthropods, and find shelter deep in the sand when weather is not favorable (Knisley and Hill, 2001).
The fragility of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle has been of concern for over three decades, with the beetle becoming recognized as a candidate species in 1984 (Knisley and Hill, 2001). In order to prevent listing, a Conservation Agreement was signed in 1997 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Parks and Recreation, and Kane County. The original agreement created 350 acres of conservation area in the southern part of the dune field and 370 acres in the north. This area was revised in 2015 to include approximately 100 m to the east and 60 m to the south. The most recent revision in 2018 altered the northern boundary by a miniscule amount (Knisley and Gowan, 2021).
Species range
Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Kane County (Knisley and Hill 1993).
Range extent limited to the dimensions of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes system (March 2023).
Habitat
The Coral Pink Sand Dunes are a system of migrating dunes that sit on approximately 3800 acres in southern Utah. The dunes have different migration patterns in the north, south, and core sections. The north is dominated by ponderosa pines, making it stable and undesirable to larvae development. The southern portion is where the sand originates, causing the most rapid dune development. The core region is the most favorable beetle habitat due to cohesive sand layers near the surface and only occasional dune migration. The cohesive sand layers are used by female beetles for oviposition and create strong material for the larvae to develop in. The dune movement happening at a slower rate allows for plant growth, and in turn, beetle prey availability (Knisley et al., 2018).
Ecology
Adult insects spend most of their daily activity time on the upper portions of the dunes and very little time in the interdune swales. Larvae are largely restricted to the swales and the lower slopes of the adjacent dunes (Knisley and Hill 2001).
Reproductive characteristics
Larvae experience three stages of development, also known as instars, over two years. During their final stage, larvae hide in their sandy burrows waiting for prey to catch. If prey is unavailable, larvae may extend their development by keeping burrows plugged until conditions are more favorable. CPSD tiger beetles develop into a pupae form for approximately three weeks before emerging as adults. Adults live for two to three years, emerging in April and surviving through June. A secondary set of adults commonly appears late August and stays active until September or October, where they then overwinter in a burrow until spring (Knisley and Hill, 2001).
Threats or limiting factors
The Coral Pink Sand Dune Tiger Beetle’s biggest threat is its restricted habitat. The beetle is only found in a small section of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes that are not drastically altered by rapidly moving dunes. The second largest threat is lack of rainfall due to increasing regional drought, which directly affects larval development. Soil moisture aids in compaction of sand layers that larvae need to build stable burrows. Females search for moist sand layers in order to lay their eggs. If the wet area is closer to the surface, females can lay eggs by sticking their ovipositor in the soil. Deeper moist layers require more digging by the females. Prey species of larvae also inhabit nearby plants that wouldn’t be possible without adequate rainfall (Knisley et al., 2018). A threat that has been addressed in the conservation agreement is the use of OTVs (off-terrain vehicles). The use of vehicles may alter the important moisture layers in the sand, but this does not seem to be a large factor in the overall health of the species, considering that the areas where OTV use is permissible lack the environmental conditions needed for beetle development. Without the Conservation Agreement’s habitat protection, the impact of OTV’s would be of higher concern.