Zayante-sandhills

Guides

• Polyphylla barbata

  Mount Hermon June Beetle

  Polyphylla barbata is a federally endangered scarab beetle endemic to a single restricted locality in the Zayante sandhills of Santa Cruz County, California. The species occupies less than 1,500 acres of habitat, making it one of the most geographically limited beetles in North America. Adults are active in mid-summer, with males flying at dusk to locate flightless females using pheromone-detecting antennae. The species faces severe habitat loss from sand mining and development, with over 40% of its sandhills habitat already destroyed.

  endangeredendemicsand-duneCaliforniaScarabaeidaeMelolonthinaeZayante-sandhillsnocturnalflightless-femalepheromone-mediated-mating