Conservation-priority
Guides
Bombus crotchii
Crotch's bumble bee, Golden State bumble bee, Crotch's bumblebee
Bombus crotchii, commonly called Crotch's bumble bee or the Golden State bumble bee, is a short- to medium-tongue bumble bee endemic to California and adjacent regions. The species is classified as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act and listed as imperiled globally by the IUCN. It has experienced severe population declines attributed to habitat loss, pesticide exposure, climate change, and inbreeding depression. The species is a dietary generalist and important pollinator of native plants and agricultural crops.
Cicindela albissima
Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle
Cicindela albissima is a highly endemic tiger beetle restricted to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes in southern Utah. Adults are distinguished by nearly pure white elytra with reduced pigmentation, contrasting with a bronze to brown thorax. The species exhibits a bimodal adult activity pattern with peak abundance in mid-April to early May, followed by a smaller secondary emergence in late August to October. Originally described as a subspecies of C. limbata, molecular and morphological evidence elevated it to full species status. The entire global population occupies approximately 400 hectares, making it one of North America's most geographically restricted tiger beetles.
Dromochorus pruininus
Frosted Dromo Tiger Beetle
Dromochorus pruininus is a small, flightless tiger beetle with a highly restricted and disjunct distribution across the south-central United States. The species inhabits exposed clay and gypsum slopes with sparse vegetation, where it runs swiftly between grass clumps to escape detection. Long considered a synonym of D. belfragei, it was reinstated as a valid species based on smooth elytra contrasting with the granulated surface of its congener. The species exhibits crepuscular activity patterns and remains one of North America's most poorly known tiger beetles, with larvae described only in 2008.
Megalomus
brown lacewings
Megalomus is a genus of brown lacewings (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae) comprising more than 40 described species distributed across northern and central Europe, with some species extending into North America. The genus includes the Bordered Brown Lacewing (M. hirtus), the only Megalomus species recorded in the UK and a conservation priority in Scotland. Species in this genus are small, typically around 1 cm in length, with distinctive wing venation including a notably broad costal space and multiple branching radial veins.
Melitta
Blunt-horn Bees
Melitta is a genus of solitary bees in the family Melittidae, comprising approximately 40 species distributed across Africa and the northern temperate zone. Most species are Palaearctic in distribution, with three rare species occurring in North America. These bees are commonly known as Blunt-horn Bees and are characterized by their specialized ecological associations with particular host plants.
Nemophora
fairy longhorn moths
Nemophora is a genus of micro-moths in the family Adelidae, commonly known as fairy longhorn moths. Species are characterized by metallic coloration and exceptionally long antennae, particularly in males. The genus is distributed across Europe, Asia, and other regions, with species occupying diverse habitats including meadows, peat bogs, and gardens. Several species have specialized larval host plant associations and are considered indicators of well-preserved traditional habitats.
Pentodontini
rhinoceros beetles
Pentodontini is the most diverse tribe within the subfamily Dynastinae (rhinoceros beetles), containing over 100 genera distributed across multiple biogeographic regions. Most genera are restricted to a single biogeographic region. The tribe is characterized by substantial morphological diversity, with generic-level identification often relying on mouthpart morphology in females and secondary sexual characters (horns, claw modifications, antennal club length) in males.
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hconnectivity-conservationcorridorbuffer-zoneprotected-areanational-parknature-reservewildlife-refugewilderness-areaworld-heritage-sitebiosphere-reserveRamsar-siteImportant-Bird-AreaKey-Biodiversity-AreaAlliance-for-Zero-Extinction-siteconservation-priorityhotspotcrisis-ecoregionglobal-200last-of-the-wildhuman-footprintcumulative-impactthreat-indexvulnerability-indexadaptive-capacityexposuresensitivityresilienceresistancerecoveryrestorationrehabilitationreintroductiontranslocationex-situin-situcaptive-breedingbotanic-gardenzoogene-bankseed-banktissue-banksperm-bankoocyte-bankembryo-bankDNA-bankfrozen-zooarkinsurancesafety-netde-extinctiongenetic-rescuegenetic-restorationgenetic-augmentationgenetic-managementpopulation-managementmetapopulationsource-sinkpatchmatrixlandscapeseascapeecosystembiomeecoregionprovincezoneregiondistrictsitelocalityhabitatmicrohabitatnicheecological-nichefundamental-nicherealized-nichetrophic-nichespatial-nichetemporal-nichebiotic-nicheabiotic-nichemultidimensional-nichen-dimensional-nicheHutchinsonian-nicheGrinnellian-nicheEltonian-nicheresourcerequirementlimitationstressdisturbanceperturbationfluctuationvariabilityheterogeneitycomplexitydiversityredundancystabilitypersistenceadaptationacclimationplasticityevolvabilityheritabilityselectiondriftflowmutationrecombinationspeciationcoalescencedivergenceconvergenceparallelismhomoplasyanalogyhomologysynapomorphysymplesiomorphyautapomorphyapomorphyplesiomorphyderivedancestralprimitiveadvancedbasalcrownstemnodebranchcladegradesubfamilyfamilysuperfamilyinfraordersuborderordersuperorderinfraclasssubclassclasssuperclasssubphylumphylumsuperphylumkingdomdomainlifeorganismindividualetc.Phanogomphus hodgesi
Hodges's Clubtail, Hodges' Clubtail
Phanogomphus hodgesi is a clubtail dragonfly endemic to the Gulf Coast of the United States. It was transferred from genus Gomphus to Phanogomphus in 2017 when that taxon was elevated from subgenus to genus rank. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN and listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Louisiana. A major NSF-funded study (GEODE project) initiated in 2018 aims to document its ecology and evolutionary relationships.