The recovery plan for the Federally Threatened Northeastern beach tiger beetle includes two primary OBJECTIVES: to protect populations in the Chesapeake Bay region and to establish new populations in the northeast. Preliminary translocations using adult beetles were unsuccessful because adults readily dispersed from the translocation site. Experimental translocations using larvae indicated potential success, and as a result, we carried out a plan to translocate ca. 500 third instar larvae during the spring for three years(1997, 1998, 2000)in an attempt to establish a population at Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook, NJ. Larvae were dug from the ground at several VA sites, placed in vials and taken to New Jersey. They were placed onto the ground, covered with the vial, and readily dug burrows. It was anticipated that many of these larvae would pupate and emerge during summer, mate and oviposit, and produce offspring that would establish a viable population. Peak abundance of adults during July counts were: 178 in 1997, 48 in 1998, 260 in 1999, 720 in 2000, and 749 in 2001. These results suggest a viable population may now be established.
Species 1: Coleoptera Cicindelidae Cicindela dorsalis (northeastern beach tiger beetle)
Keywords: insect conservation, recovery
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA