PROTECTING WISCONSIN'S BIODIVERSITY

Hairy-necked Tiger Beetle (Cicindela hirticollis rhodensis), a Wisconsin Endangered beetle, has been found on sand beaches along Lakes Superior and Michigan. Larvae burrow into the beach behind the littoral drift area where the substrate is moist but less likely to swamp, and in front of the vegetated stabilized upper beach. The burrows go straight down 5-8 inches. Larvae are very picky about the moisture content of the sand and will abandon burrows that have become too wet or dry. Eggs are laid in moist sand in late-June or early-July. Third instar larvae overwinter and open the burrow in May to feed. Pupation occurs in June or July. The newly emerged adults may have to overwinter again before re-emerging sexually mature the next spring. A two-year overlapping life cycle results in newly emerged adults with year-old adults in mid-summer. The adult beetles can sometimes move into the more vegetated stabilized upper beach to forage. Adults are active mid-May through September but most abundant in June and August.