STATE ENDANGERED
“Terie” the Salt Creek tiger
beetle
Scientific
name: Cicindela nevadica lincolniana
Geographic location: Lincoln, NE. USA
Artist: Jessa Huebing-Reitinger
Medium: Oil on canvas 66” x 42” 2004
Performance venue: Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, NE. USA
The
Salt Creek Tiger Beetle is one of the rarest living insects
in America. This tiger beetle is found only in the prehistoric
saline wetlands habitat north of Lincoln, Nebraska and hunts
mosquitoes, flies and other insects during June and July each
summer. Project InSECT collaborated with the University of
Nebraska Entomology Department, which has been researching
and studying the Salt Creek tiger beetle for nearly a quarter
of a century and pleading for a Federal Endangered listing
for a decade. The declining numbers of beetles are due to
the destruction of this unique habitat and light pollution
from the urban sprawl.
This tiger beetle was classified as a State Endangered (S2)
insect through the Nebraska Fish and Wildlife Commission,
and sadly, it hasn’t been enough. Prior to 1997, two
other tiger beetle species in the U.S. were listed as Federal
Endangered with a much higher number count and more habitat
sites.
“Terie
I” the tiger beetle began to come to life on canvas
beginning September 11, 2004, at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha,
NE. This is the only painting with words painted on the canvas.
These words were an act of desperation due to the restrictions
of press, media, and signage allowed for the Salt Creek tiger
beetle during our live performance on zoo grounds. Our goal
was to create community awareness and help with conservation
efforts for the tiger beetle, and that is hard to accomplish
when nobody knows who you are, where you are, and what you
are doing. Thus another Salt Creek tiger beetle painting was
to come, “Terie II”, just 5 months later at a
different location and this time with many different results.
