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The Ohlone tiger beetle is a colorful, predatory, and endangered insect endemic to Santa Cruz County, California. Adult tiger beetles are ferocious and agile predators that seize their small prey with powerful sickle-shaped jaws. These beetles require specific habitat conditions in clay soils within native grasslands of the rare coastal terrace prairie, sites sought after by developers for building homes with views of the Pacific Ocean.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS: Endangered
YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 2001
CRITICAL HABITAT: None
RECOVERY PLAN: None
RANGE: Known from only five sites in Santa Cruz County, California
THREATS: Urban development, alteration of suitable habitat by invasive plants, pesticides, illegal collecting, and other human impacts such as trampling
POPULATION TREND: Unknown, but only five small beetle populations remain, occupying less than 25 acres
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SAVING THE OHLONE TIGER BEETLE
After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to protect the Ohlone tiger beetle despite two listing petitions detailing its tiny range and the increasing threats to the species, a Center lawsuit and legal agreement resulted in an endangered listing in 2001. The Center also worked to protect critical tiger beetle habitat in Scotts Valley from being destroyed by the Glenwood development. Our pesticide report, Silent Spring Revisited, details the threat to the Ohlone tiger beetle of pesticides from urban runoff.
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Contact: Jeff Miller
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