NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1107649
12 Nebraskaland • May 2019 By Melissa J. Panella THREATENED AND ENDANGERED: THE SALT CREEK TIGER BEETLE Tiger beetles are a fascinating group of insects. They may be small at only half an inch long, but they are fierce predators. They are well equipped with large mandibles and teeth to hunt their prey, which includes the larvae of other insects. A larval tiger beetle will sit and wait anchored underground in its burrow until it senses a potential food item passing just over its head, then it quickly strikes in anticipation of catching a meal. The adult tiger beetles will instinctively pursue just about anything small enough. Tiger beetles in Nebraska are colored in multiple hues of red, orange, green, blue and other colors, some with metallic sheen and bold white or cream markings. Several species of tiger beetle are found in Nebraska's saline wetlands – a biologically unique landscape. The Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) is native to Nebraska. It's the only known place the species can be found in the world, within a restricted radius around Lincoln. Salt Creek tiger beetles are endangered because the remnant salt marshes where they live are so limited, and changes to the surrounding landscape result in their habitat being lost. In some cases, the habitat available to Salt Creek tiger beetles is only a thin stretch of open salt flat where the adults can forage and where females can find adequate moisture and salinity to support their eggs. Tiger beetles are susceptible to the effects of pollution, chemicals and urban development. Because there are so few Salt Creek tiger beetles in a relatively small area, a single localized catastrophic event could cause their extinction. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission partners with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Entomology Department to monitor the population of Salt Creek tiger beetles. Each summer, one or more surveyors brave steep terrain, extreme heat, copious ticks and mosquitoes, holes and quicksand that can unexpectedly swallow a biologist's leg. The most recent count from summer 2018 fortunately indicated no net loss of Salt Creek tiger beetles from the year prior. The next count will take place in May or June 2019, dependent on weather conditions that influence when the adult tiger beetles will be most active. Many groups, including the Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership, Lower Platte South NRD, City of Lincoln, Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, Lincoln Children's Zoo, Topeka Zoo, volunteers and others, are involved in conserving Salt Creek tiger beetles. The protection and restoration of wetlands, a captive-rearing program, and recovery plans are keeping this striking little rare beetle unique to Nebraska. SALT CREEK TIGER BEETLE. PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER IN THE FIELD