[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8014-8016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4802]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding 
for a Petition To List the Ohlone Tiger Beetle as Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 12-month 
finding on a petition to list the Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela 
ohlone) as endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 
1973, as amended. The Ohlone tiger beetle was discovered in 1990 and is 
currently known only from Santa Cruz County, California. The five known 
populations may be threatened by the following factors: habitat 
fragmentation and destruction due to urban development, habitat 
degradation due to invasion of non-native vegetation, and vulnerability 
to stochastic local extirpations. However, the Service finds that the 
information presented in the petition, in addition to information in 
the Service's files, does not provide conclusive data on biological 
vulnerability and threats to the species and/or its habitat. Available 
information does not confirm that the species is limited to a specific 
habitat type. After review of all available scientific and commercial 
information, the Service determines that listing is not warranted for 
the Ohlone tiger beetle at this time.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on November 9, 
1995. Comments and information concerning this finding may be submitted 
until further notice.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments or questions concerning this 
petition finding may be submitted to the Field Supervisor, Ventura 
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite 
B, Ventura, California 93003. The petition, finding, supporting data 
and comments are available for public inspection, by appointment, 
during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Benz, Assistant Field Supervisor, 
Listing and Recovery (See ADDRESSES section) at 805/644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that, for any petition to 
revise the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants that 
contains substantial scientific and commercial information, the Service 
make a finding within 12 months of the date of receipt of the petition 
whether the petitioned action is (a) not warranted, (b) warranted, or 
(3) warranted but precluded from immediate proposal by other pending 
proposals. Such 12-month findings are to be published promptly in the 
Federal Register.
    On February 18, 1993, the Service received a petition from Randall 
Morgan of Soquel, California requesting that the Service add the Ohlone 
tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone) to the list of threatened and 
endangered species pursuant to the Act. The petition specified 
endangered status because of 

[[Page 8015]]
the beetle's limited distribution, specialized habitat requirements, 
and threats from proposed residential developments and other habitat 
disturbances. A 90-day finding was made by the Service that the 
petition presented substantial information indicating that the 
requested action may be warranted. The 90-day finding was announced in 
the Federal Register on January 27, 1994 (59 FR 3830). A status review 
was initiated.
    The Service has reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the 
petition, other available literature and information, and consulted 
with biologists and researchers familiar with tiger beetles. On the 
basis of the best available scientific and commercial information, the 
Service finds that listing the Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone) 
as endangered is not warranted.
    The Ohlone tiger beetle is a member of the Coleopteran family 
Cicindelidae (tiger beetles), which includes more than 2,000 species 
worldwide and more than 100 species in the United States (Pearson and 
Cassola 1992). Tiger beetles are crepuscular, predatory insects that 
prey on small arthropods. Tiger beetle species occur in many different 
habitats including riparian habitats, beaches, dunes, woodlands, 
grasslands, and other open areas (Pearson 1988, Knisley and Hill 1992). 
A common habitat component appears to be open sunny areas that are used 
by tiger beetles for hunting and thermoregulation (Knisley et al. 1990, 
Knisley and Hill 1992). Individual species are generally highly habitat 
specific because of larval sensitivity to soil moisture, composition, 
and temperature (Pearson 1988, Pearson and Cassola 1992, Kaulbars and 
Freitag 1993).
    The Ohlone tiger beetle was first described in 1993 from specimens 
collected near Soquel, Santa Cruz County, California in 1990. 
Currently, five populations have been found and both male and female 
specimens have been collected. The larvae of the Ohlone tiger beetle 
have yet to be seen or collected, but are presumed to be similar to 
other tiger beetle species. Collection of Ohlone tiger beetles has 
occurred only in Santa Cruz County, where populations are known only 
from coastal terraces supporting remnant patches of native grassland 
habitat on clay and sandy clay soils.
    Two principal features distinguishing the Ohlone tiger beetle from 
other species of tiger beetles are its early seasonal adult activity 
period, and its disjunct distribution. While other tiger beetle 
species, such as Cicindela purpurea, are active during spring, summer, 
or early fall (Nagano 1980, Freitag et al. 1993), the Ohlone tiger 
beetle is active from late January to early April (Freitag et al. 
1993). The Ohlone tiger beetle is also the southernmost member of its 
related group of tiger beetles (Freitag et al. 1993). These unusual 
characteristics may, in part account for the lack of historical 
collections of the species. Collectors would not expect to find tiger 
beetles during late winter or in the Santa Cruz area. However, because 
Cicindela is a very popular insect genus to collect (C. Nagano, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, pers. comm. 1993), and because entomologists 
commonly collect out of season and out of known ranges in order to find 
temporally and spatially outlying specimens, one would expect more 
specimens to have been collected if the Ohlone tiger beetle were more 
widespread and common. A limited, localized occurrence of the species 
may also help explain why the Ohlone tiger beetle was not discovered 
until 1990.
    Currently, the known adult Ohlone tiger beetle habitat is 
characterized by open native grassland, with California oatgrass 
(Danthonia californica) and purple needlegrass (Stipa pulchra), on 
level or nearly level slopes. Substrate is shallow, pale, poorly 
drained clay or sandy clay soil that bakes to a hard crust by summer, 
after winter and spring rains cease (Freitag et al. 1993). Habitat for 
oviposition by females and subsequent larval development is unknown.
    The historic range of the Ohlone tiger beetle cannot be precisely 
assessed because the species was only recently discovered, and no 
historic specimens or records are available. The earliest specimen 
recorded was collected from a site northwest of Santa Cruz in 1987 
(Freitag et al. 1993). Based on available information on topography, 
substrates, soils, and vegetation, potential suitable habitat for the 
Ohlone tiger beetle may have been more extensive and continuous than at 
present. If, indeed, the beetle is restricted to coastal terraces of 
clay or sandy clay soils, then based on soil maps, it may once have 
extended from southwestern San Mateo County to northwestern Monterey 
County, California (Freitag et al. 1993). Much of this habitat has been 
destroyed, degraded, and fragmented by urban development and invasion 
of non-native vegetation. Currently, the extent of habitat that is 
potentially suitable for the Ohlone tiger beetle is estimated at 200 to 
300 acres in Santa Cruz County, California (Freitag et al. 1993). 
However, restriction of the species to these habitat parameters has not 
been demonstrated and the occurrence of the Ohlone tiger beetle beyond 
this range is not known. Barry Knisley (entomologist, Randolph-Macon 
College, pers. comm. 1995) suggests that soil type, rather than plant 
community, may define the range and emphasized the need for additional 
field work to verify soil relationships. Extensive range-wide surveys 
have not been conducted.
    The five known populations face threats from habitat fragmentation 
and destruction due to urban development, habitat degradation due to 
invasion of non-native vegetation, and vulnerability to stochastic 
local extirpations. Collection, pesticides, and recreational use of 
habitat are recognized as potential threats. However, the Service 
concludes that life history information and survey data are currently 
inadequate to conclusively determine that the Ohlone tiger beetle is 
restricted to the described habitat. Listing the species as either 
endangered or threatened is not warranted at this time because 
sufficient information is not available indicating that the species is 
clearly in danger of extinction or expected to become so in the 
foreseeable future. The Ohlone tiger beetle is a species of concern to 
the Service and additional information regarding the status, range, and 
habitat of adult and larval forms will continue to be solicited.
    If additional data become available in the future, the Service may 
reassess the candidate status and listing priority for this species or 
the need for listing.

References Cited

Freitag, R., D.H. Kavanaugh and R. Morgan. 1993. A new species of 
Cicindela (Cicindela) (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelini) from 
remnant native grassland in Santa Cruz County, California. The 
Coleopterists Bulletin 47:113-120.

[[Page 8016]]

Kaulbars, M.M. and R. Freitag. 1993. Geographical variation, 
classification, reconstructed phylogeny, and geographical history of 
the Cicindela sexguttata group (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). The 
Canadian Entomologist 125:267-316.
Knisley, C.B. and J.M. Hill. 1992. Effects of habitat change from 
ecological succession and human impacts on tiger beetles. Virginia 
Journal of Science 43:133-142.
Knisley, C.B., T.D. Schultz and T.H. Hasewinkel. 1990. Seasonal 
activity and thermoregulatory behavior of Cicindela patruela 
(Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of 
America 83:911-915.
Nagano, C.D. 1980. Population status of the tiger beetles of the 
genus Cicindela (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) inhabiting the marine 
shoreline of southern California. Atala 8:33-42.
Pearson, D.L. 1988. Biology of Tiger Beetles. Annual Review of 
Entomology 33:123-147.
Pearson, D.L. and F. Cassola. 1992. World-wide species richness 
patterns of tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae): indicator 
taxon for biodiversity and conservation studies. Conservation 
Biology 6:376-391.

    Author: The primary author of this notice is Carl Benz, Ventura 
Field Office (see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 805/644-1766).
Authority
    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: November 9, 1995.
John G. Rogers,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 96-4802 Filed 2-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P