Species Cicindela ohlone - Ohlone Tiger Beetle

"Oh-LO-nee"

The epithet "ohlone" refers to the tribal name of the native American people indigenous to the area where the species occurs.

(Randy Morgan had wanted to name this beetle in honor of Patricia Smith of the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum...but as he explains in this video the specific epitaths "patricia" and "smithiae" were unavailable in the genus)

Very localized endemic of Santa Cruz County, California.

Open hard-packed soils, with nearby grass used for cover. This habitat is typically provided by hiking & biking trails nowadays, and in earlier times presumably from impacts of other large mammals. (Perhaps pleistocene megafauna? At least that's one interesting hypothesis that's been put forward! For more details, see the magazine article cited below under "Internet References".)

Late winter, early spring. This constitutes rather early, cool-weather, timing when compared to typical tiger beetle phenology.

Federally listed endangered species. For details (including some interesting natural history) see this PDF from the US Fish & Wildlife Service's website.

The Ohlone Tiger Beetle was discovered and named by the late Randy Morgan...naturalist extraordinaire of Santa Cruz, California and cherished mentor and friend to many.