Life Sciences Unit: Neat Stuff - Entomology
A New Subspecies of Tiger Beetle!
Tiger beetles are impressive-looking insects with large eyes and powerful sickle-like jaws that can deliver a nasty bite. Many of the species are coloured so as to blend in with their surroundings. They are quick and agile, making them a formidable predator of other insects.
On a trip to the Athabasca sand dunes in northwestern Saskatchewan, Life Sciences curator Keith Roney and Ron Hooper, an entomologist (insect specialist) with the RSM, discovered a green tiger beetle along the south shores of Lake Athabasca. Ron became excited at seeing this beetle and headed out to collect a few more specimens. After consulting with other entomologists, they suspected that this might be a new species of Cicindela (the genus name for all tiger beetles). Specimens were sent to tiger beetle experts who decided that this beetle was not a new species but rather a new subspecies of Cicindela hirticollis. It was given the name of Cicindela hirticollis athabascensis.
Ancestors of this new subspecies likely made their way north to the Athabasca sand dunes, became isolated from the rest of the population, and eventually adapted to this harsh environment. Blowing sand is very common on the dunes, and some of these beetles show signs of wearing and abrasion, similar to the effects of sand-blasting!
Wind Scorpions – A Brand New Genus
Wind Scorpions are fairly rare insects that belong to the same class as spiders and other arachnids. They are fast and agile with extremely strong jaws, making them effective predators of other insects. Unlike scorpions, they aren’t poisonous, and they don’t have a tail or claws. However, they may attempt to bite. They inhabit the dry regions of southern B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, and they are nocturnal, crawling out from under rocks and cow dung to hunt at night.
Keith Roney, chief curator of Life Sciences at the RSM, has discovered a different kind of wind scorpion in southern Saskatchewan, so different that it may be given its own genus (a genus represents a whole group of species)! The specimen is currently being examined by experts to determine where it fits in the hierarchy of the order Solpugida (wind scorpions in general). It will be an important addition to the RSM’s Life Sciences collections.
For further information contact the Curator of Life Sciences.
Previous Life Sciences Unit | Next Neat Stuff - Ornithology