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PURITAN TIGER BEETLE Cicindela puritana By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty

By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

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Page 1: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

PURITAN TIGER BEETLECicindela puritana By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty

Page 2: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Arthropoda Class: InsectaOrder: ColepteraFamily: Cicindelidae Genus: CicindelaSpecies: puritana

Taxonomy

Page 3: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Protected StatusUnder the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Listed as a federally threatened species for its entire range

Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts statutesListed as an endangered species for local

conditions

Page 4: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

How they got their namePuritan tiger beetle

(Cicindela puritana), PTB.

Tiger beetles are named for their ferocious hunting behavior: they spot their prey with their large eyes, and sprint to catch it, like tigers.

‘Puritan’ is in honor of their discovery in Massachusetts, and for the way they seem to pray.

Page 5: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Natural History

Page 6: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Physical traits• They are cold-blooded, terrestrial,

invertebrate arthropods. Their size ranges from 12mm. to 14mm (0.5

inch mean size). They have a brown thorax and head with

areas of dark greens, browns and bronzes. They have patterned elytra, which are

leathery wing covers that protect their wings located beneath.

The patterns on these covers are white and symmetrical with a line running parallel to the pincers.

Page 7: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Physical traits Continued…Their large eyes help them spot their prey. Then they move quickly to capture their prey,

running after the prey on long slender legs. They are ferocious hunters with a voracious

appetite.

Page 8: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Speed• Aggressive and highly skilled predators -

pound for pound, PTB have been clocked as the fastest animal on earth.

If they were the size of a horse they would reach speeds of 200 to 300 miles per hour.

In fact, they can run so fast when they hunt that they are unable to process the incoming visual input, becoming temporarily blind, so they must stop to reorient themselves if they miss their target.

Page 9: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Adult’s Hunting TechniquePTB go through bursts of foraging activity,

alternating with long periods of standing still.When these speedy animals capture their

prey, they grab it with their long, sword like mandibles, crush and tear the insect apart, and then spit up their saliva, which digests their prey even before they suck it up as a gooey stew.

The PTB is carnivorous and at least a third level consumer.

Their diet consists mainly of small insects, flies and ants.

Page 10: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Predators

• Dragonflies and robber flies may eat adults. Flies and wasps threaten the larva by laying

parasitic eggs in larval burrows. If the fly and wasp eggs survive, the wasp

larva attach themselves to the beetle larva and eat them alive.

The parasitoid eggs, if successful, will hatch into larvae that attach to the back of the tiger beetle larva and eat it alive, eventually emerging from the burrow as an adult wasp or fly.

Page 11: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Life Cycle

The PTB leads a life of remarkable contrasts. The Puritan tiger beetle’s life cycle is 2 years

long.  They spend about 96% of these 2 years as a

larva.They are larva for 22 months spending much

of their lives buried in the sand.The beetles go from eggs to larva and then

molt several times to pupa, finally becoming adults.

Page 12: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Life Cycle Continued…During the summer months adults are active.

The adults emerge anytime from late June to early August.

This leaves them very little time as adults and little time to mate.

Mating occurs in the warm summer months, and egg laying occurs in mid August.

The females place their eggs one by one just underneath the top layer of sand and then die.

Approximately one week after eggs are laid, the eggs hatch into larvae that are about 6 mm long.

Page 13: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

ReproductionFemales have been observed placing their

eggs singly, just below the surface of the sand among scattered plants.

In her lifetime, the average female lays between 30 and 100 eggs.

The females’ choice of location for depositing their eggs is very particular, based on the characteristics of the sandy soil. If the local conditions aren’t suitable for the females’ needs, the population may abandon a potential habitat site.

Page 14: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

The LarvaeAfter about a week, the eggs hatch into

larvae about one-third of an inch long. The larvae dig a burrow an inch or two deep

in the sand.After 2 to 4 weeks, the larvae molt into a

slightly larger second stage, which dig deeper burrows, about 1.5 to 2 feet.

By late October, these second-stage larvae close their burrows for the first of their two winter hibernations.

Page 15: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

The Larvae continued…In April or early May of the next spring, they

open their holes and are active for a month or two, then close their burrows again until early September, when they molt to the third and final larval stage.

These larvae remain active until late fall when they close their burrows for their second winter.

The following spring, they are active until about June, when they pupate and transform into adults.

The adult beetles then emerge from their burrows and begin the cycle again.

Page 16: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

The Larvae …concludedPTB larvae are sit

and wait predators,They wait in

burrows for prey to approach within a few inches of the opening,

Once in range, the larvae strike with lightning speed to seize their prey and drag it inside.

PTB larva in burrow

Page 17: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Ecology

Page 18: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Habitat PTB require sand and clay deposits, formed

by glacial lakes during the Pleistocene. These deposits are found along the Atlantic coastal plain.

This beetle requires sandy beaches along both fresh and brackish water such as rivers, streams and estuaries.

The beaches, located under sandy cliffs or at bends in the river, are relatively dry, wide, and free of vegetation.

Page 19: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Habitat continued…These beaches are also where the tiger

beetle’s prey are found.It depends on areas which are disturbed

enough to remain relatively open and free of plant cover, but not so disturbed that they wash away.

Their habitat can be covered by floods in almost any month of the year.

Page 20: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

“Choosey Moms” choose habitatReproductive females are instrumental in

choosing habitat based on the geological characteristics of potential cliff sites for depositing their eggs.

The sites that female Puritan tiger beetles carefully select have the characteristics best suited for the hatching larvae to burrow into the cliffs where they will live most of their lives.

Mothers choose the locations where the next generation will live.

Page 21: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Population: Size and Distribution

(Population Biology)

Page 22: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

RangeThe PTB’s distribution follows the sand and

clay deposits formed by glaciers during the last ice age.

One area is along the Connecticut River, in New England - the other along the Chesapeake Bay, in Maryland.

The populations were separated by 600 miles during the last ice age about 47,500 years ago.

The species distribution follows the sand and clay deposits formed by glacial lakes during the Pleistocene.

Page 23: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Calvert Cliffs, Maryland

Page 24: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Chesapeake Bay PopulationsThese two populations are 110 km apart on

opposite sides of the bay.The distribution of the PTB along the cliffs of

the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay spans about 40 km.

Page 25: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Listed: 8/7/1990 ThreatenedStatus since listing: Declined

Chesapeake Bay PopulationPeak abundance in

the early to mid 90s and lowest around 2005.

The numbers have increased since 2005 but are still well below peak abundance.

There are large year-to-year fluctuations, but the larger pattern is downward

Page 26: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

The New England PopulationThey inhabit the beaches along the

Connecticut River in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The PTB was reportedly collected in several towns from Middletown to the Massachusetts border in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Presently, they are found at a single cluster of 3 small sites.

The total population in New England is less than 1,000; more than 99 percent of the remaining New England population is found only in Connecticut.

Page 27: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Connecticut River PopulationThe total population

includes only 2 of 11 historical populations – one in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts.

The Connecticut population is much larger than Massachusetts

Population fluctuations are similar to those in Maryland

Page 28: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

Reason for DeclinePTB populations are limited by the

availability of sandy beach habitat along rivers, which tends to occur below large river bends.

Some sites have been lost due to bank stabilization around cities and by habitat loss due to flooding behind dams.

They are also threatened due to heavy recreational use.

Adult PTB are most active on the beach at the same time as people are.

Page 29: By: K. Gargurevich & K. McNulty. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleptera Family: Cicindelidae Genus: Cicindela Species: puritana

What can you do?Plants and animals that live on beaches are

under great pressure from development and recreation. Remember that the beach you are on may be some creature's living room--tread softly and treat it with respect.

Much of what we know about the PTB is from volunteers who have recently helped with monitoring and translocating larvae. Protecting biodiversity requires everyone’s help.

Learn about threats to this and other species. Today’s students are tomorrow’s teachers and scientists.