Ohlone Tiger Beetle - Ecology

Ecology

C. ohlone complete their life cycle in two, in rare cases take one, years. After mating and subsequent fertilization, the female tiger beetle deposits the egg several millimeters under the ground. The egg hatches into a larva that creates a burrow. The larva will feed on prey that pass by the burrow until it forms a pupa and finally emerges as an adult .

C. ohlone are predators and feed on many different species of arthropods. C. ohlone capture prey either in active chases with brief intermittent pauses or by waiting in shady areas and grabbing prey with their mandibles as it approaches . The primary predators of tiger beetles are birds, lizards and other insects; however it is not yet known if C. ohlone have these same predators. To avoid becoming prey the beetle escapes by quick flights or running aided by the beetle's exceptional vision. Predation has not yet been studied for C. ohlone larvae, but tiger beetle larva are hunted by ground-foraging woodpeckers, ants, and wasps. Their most important predators are parasitoid wasp and flies that lay their eggs in the beetle larva. The tiger beetle larvae is then consumed by the wasp or fly larvae, which then emerge from the burrow as adults .

C. ohlone is active during the late winter and spring. This differs from all other tiger beetles species who are active in summer or in spring and fall .