Omus dejeani

Omus dejeani
Omus dejeanii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Cicindelidae
Genus:	Omus
Species:	O. dejeani
Binomial name
Omus dejeani Reiche, 1838

Omus dejeani is a species of flightless tiger beetle (Cicindelidae) that is found from British Columbia almost to northern California in dense, coastal forests. It can be found quite commonly in suitable habitats in the spring. It is most often collected with pitfall traps, but can be found walking along trails at night and on cloudy days during the right time.

Description

Night-stalking tiger beetles (Cicindelinae: Omus) are members of the Carabid sub-family to Cicindelinae, the tiger beetles.

The genus Omus is placed within the tribe Omini, and is considered the most primitive of the tiger beetles. Omus is placed in Omini with the North American genera Amblycheila and the African Platychile.The genus Omus currently contains five recognized species, Omus dejeani (Greater night-stalking tiger beetle) being the largest species of the genus, between 15 and 20 mm.

Habitat

Populations of Omus are a common occurring species among terrestrial arthropods of old growth forests specifically duff habitats of the West coastal portions of North America. Field studies report two recognized species of Omus were extant in forested areas of Powell Butte Nature Park, Portland, Oregon, USA: Omus audouini and Omus dejeanii.

Range

Known to the Western Hemisphere, this species range is discontinuous. There are approximately 12 species from three genre of Omus in fragments of coastal temperate forests of British Columbia, California and Oregon.

Predators

Although the observation and study of the predation on O. Dejeanii are unsubstantial, especially on larval stages due to a lack of differentiating morphological traits and below ground activity there are accounts of ants excavating and feeding on tiger beetle larvae. Birds ( mainly flickers,Colaptes auratus, beetles, and parasitoid wasps, are sources of predation on pupae .The dominant predators of adult tiger beetles have been reasonably well studied, with robber flies and birds targeting tiger beetles in flight, and lizards, amphibians, lycosid spiders (wolf spiders), and insectivores preying upon terrestrial beetles. Notably both shrews and moles among other small nocturnal mammals are known to hunt and devour Omus and other terrestrial beetles.

Threats

Loss of habitat due to fragmentation of environment and deforestation for commercial logging, wild fires, and development.

References

• A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada by David L. Pearson, C. Barry Knisley and Charles J. Kazilek. Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Richardson, Robert Kent, "Ecomorphology and Mating Behavior of Two Species of Night-stalking Tiger Beetles, Omus audouini and O. dejeanii" (2013). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1021.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2022. Recovery Strategy for the Audouin's Night-stalking Tiger Beetle (Omus audouini) in Canada [Proposed]. Species at Risk Act 4 Recovery Strategy Series. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa.5 viii + 46 pp.
• Lattin, John D. “Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in Old-Growth Northwest Forests.” American Zoologist, vol. 33, no. 6, 1993, pp. 578–87. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3883721. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
• Leffler, S.R. 1985. Omus submetallicus G. Horn:historical perspective,systematic position, type locality, and habitat. Cicindela, 17: 37-50.

External links

• Data related to Omus dejeani at Wikispecies