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The Tasmanian Naturalist 142 (2020)
35
Jewels on re! The Miena Jewel Beetle,
Castiarina
insculpta
(Carter, 1934) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae),
and the 2019 Great Pine Tier re
Karen Richards and Chris P. Spencer
65 Sinclair Avenue, Moonah 7009
spenric@gmail.com
The narrow range Tasmanian endemic
Miena Jewel beetle, Castiarina insculpta
(Carter, 1934), has been scientically
recognised for less than a century;
but during this period the species has
experienced tumultuous changes of
fortune. Originally described from a
single female specimen collected near
yingina / Great Lake by Critchley Parker
in 1934, it was not until the 2000s that
further specimens were obtained, with
5 specimens being found between 2004
and 2010. Each of these was located
by different people under a range of
circumstances. Three factors remained
constant however: all specimens were
female, were dead when found and
came from the yingina / Great Lake
area (Smith et al. 2004; Bowden 2010;
Threatened Species Section 2020). The
2013 discovery of live C. insculpta by eld
naturalists caused entomological pulses
to race and rapidly led to a signicant
increase in the collective knowledge of
the species (Bonham et al. 2013; Spencer
& Richards 2014; Richards & Spencer
2016, 2017).
Originally listed as extinct under the
Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection
Act (TSPA) in 1995, having not been
‘knowingly’ recorded since the type
specimen was collected, it was later
discovered that a specimen had been
found in 1965 and is held in the South
Australian Museum (Cowie 2001,
Atlas of Living Australia database).
The discovery of further C. insculpta
specimens in the early 2000s led to a
revision of the species’ status. Despite
the absence of live specimens at that
time, the new records of dead individuals
resulted in C. insculpta being downlisted
from extinct to endangered on the TSPA
in 2008. Over time, a number of surveys
have been instigated, including by staff
of both the Queen Victoria and the
Tasmanian museum and art galleries,
enthusiastic naturalists from Tasmanian
Field Naturalists clubs and researchers
from the University of Tasmania
(Smith et al. 2004; Bonham et al. 2013;
Spencer & Richards 2014; Richards &
Spencer 2016, 2017). In 2018, mainly
due to the signicant increase in extent
of occurrence and number of known
subpopulations, the status of C. insculpta
was again reviewed, resulting in its further
downlisting to vulnerable on the TSPA.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 142 (2020)
36
However, the ensuing events of the
2018–19 summer, occurring within the
range of the species and resulting in the
decimation of a signicant proportion
of the beetles’ habitat, warranted yet
another review of the beetles’ status. In
2020 the Tasmanian Scientic Advisory
Committee considered the species again,
this time leading to the species’ status
returning to endangered (Threatened
Species Section 2020).
On 20 January 2019, a bushre ignited
by a dry lightning strike began in the
vicinity of the Great Pine Tier on the
Central Plateau. This re coincided with
weather conditions conducive to re,
and by 24 January was out of control,
having already burnt approximately
20,000 ha (Tasmania Fire Service
data). At this period, Liawenee, Miena,
Shannon and Penstock Lagoon were
being issued with “watch and act”
warnings. After a frightening and hectic
week for all concerned, during which
the re front also turned north toward
Brandum, 31 January saw cooler
conditions, tending to slow the progress
of the re, which now had a footprint
of 50,000 ha and appeared likely to have
consumed at least 50% of the known C.
insculpta habitat within the beetle’s range.
The progress of the re was eventually
halted in early February, leaving a
56,632.9 ha re footprint with a
Figure 1. Map of the area burned in the January 2019 re. Red polygon = Castiarina insculpta
extent of occurrence, green = unburned Ozothamnus hookeri, light grey = the re footprint (TFS
data), darker grey = unburned areas within the re footprint.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 142 (2020)
37
perimeter of 639 km (Tasmania Fire
Service data; Figure 1). Despite the close
proximity to several small settlements,
no human lives were lost and damage to
buildings was minimal. The reghting
effort was admirable, particularly as a
number of major res were concurrently
burning across Tasmania at Mt Anne
(Lake Pedder), Riveaux Road (Picton–
Huon Valley), Gell River (Maydena–
Florentine) and Moores Valley (west
coast), and the limited resources
available were being apportioned to res
considered higher priority due to heavy
population and impending property loss.
Road closures and warnings across
the Central Plateau during this time
limited our ongoing research effort on
this species over summer. Some safe
locations remained accessible, however,
and even as the re burned the authors
were recording range extensions for
C. insculpta including near Gunns and
Little lakes, (north of Arthurs Lake)
and on Westons Road (north of Great
Plate 1. Marlborough Hwy, Skittleball Plains – before and after the January 2019 re.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 142 (2020)
38
Lake). The Westons Rd location has
extensive patches of Ozothamnus hookeri
which were found to support a medium
to high density of C. insculpta, as well
as a medium density of Castiarina rudis
(Carter, 1934) occupying the numerous
patches of Orites revoluta scrub, the
known food plant of this species
(Richards & Spencer 2017).
The roads eventually reopened following
the extinguishment of the re, allowing
a preliminary assessment of the damage
to C. insculpta habitat. The rst post-re
visit took place on 15 February 2019
when we surveyed the areas along the
Marlborough Highway between Little
Pine Lagoon and Miena, and from
Miena to the northern end of Great
Lake. Large areas of Ozothamnus and
Hakea scrub along the Marlborough
Highway, the western side of the road,
surrounding the Ouse River Bridge,
“Skittleball Plain”, Little Pine Lagoon
and Monpelyata Road were heavily burnt
(Plate 1). Previously, these locations
were known to support medium to
high densities of C. insculpta (Spencer &
Richards 2014).
Liawenee to Reynolds Neck and patches
near Brandum Bay along the Highland
Lakes Road were also signicantly
impacted, with the high intensity of
the re obvious at a number of sites,
where little evidence of former dense
stands of O. hookeri remained. The vast
majority of the vegetation along the
Plate 2. Lake Augusta Road burned area, showing re intensity.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 142 (2020)
39
Lake Augusta Road between Liawenee
and Thousand Lakes Lodge (originally
known as Bernacchi Lodge), north
of the Ouse River, was also destroyed
(Plate 2). The O. hookeri in this region
previously supported a medium density
population of C. insculpta.
Readers may recall that we have
previously written about another jewel
beetle, C. rudis, and the native cockroach,
Polyzosteria sp. Burmeister, 1838, in the
Central Highlands (Richards & Spencer
2017, 2019). While the re will most
certainly have heavily impacted the
habitat and populations of these and
many other species, so far it appears that
only a few of our research sites were
burned. On a positive note, our 2019
surveys extended the distribution of
C. rudis along Westons Road, ensuring
the persistence of the species in this
area. We also conrmed that C. rudis
is widespread across the Ben Lomond
Plateau and an additional population
was recorded on Mount Barrow.
Despite all of the devastation, a few
vegetated remnants remain, including
the area in the immediate proximity
to the Ranger Station at Liawenee (a
Tasmanian Field Naturalists C. insculpta
research site), the greater part of which
was unscathed. A one-hour survey of
this location recorded 24 C. insculpta
feeding and mating on O. hookeri blossom
and a further 13 beetles in ight. Given
that mid-February usually signals the
end of the beetles’ active period, it was
remarkable to record a female C. insculpta
ovipositing.
Adult C. insculpta regularly appear in
elevated numbers biennially (Spencer
& Richards 2014; Richards & Spencer
2016, 2017). Our observations both pre-
and post-re conrm that the summer
of 2018–19 was a high (or positive)
year for the species, implying that large
numbers of adults must have been
incinerated as well as lower numbers
of half-term larvae destined to become
the adult population in the subsequent
summer (negative year). There is little
doubt that local extinctions of C.
insculpta sub-populations have occurred
across much of the area resulting from
the re, however the extent of this
impact remains to be fully investigated.
It is expected that the impact of the
re on the habitat, and therefore C.
insculpta, has been signicant across the
re footprint. There are consequences,
both in the short and longer term, for
the species. As well as the existence of
nearby beetles to colonise, repopulation
will depend not simply on regeneration
of the vegetation, but rather on the
time needed for O. hookeri to develop
the features required by the beetle to
successfully breed. The authors have
reported 13 mm diameter as being
the smallest stem to show C. insculpta
emergence holes (Spencer & Richards
2014); thus, we anticipate a period
in excess of ten years before any O.
hookeri regrowth will attain a suitable
stem diameter for egg-laying and larval
development.
Clearly, historical wildres must have
periodically negatively impacted
C. insculpta, as have anthropogenic
inuences such as destruction of habitat,
as well as grazing practices (Spencer
The Tasmanian Naturalist 142 (2020)
40
& Richards 2014). The reduction of
heavy grazing allowed the food plant to
ourish, providing the resource for the
beetle to expand its area of occupancy.
However, much of the incinerated O.
hookeri was likely to have been of the
same age cohort, and since it has a life
expectancy of 30–50 years (Kirkpatrick
et al. 2002), it may have been approaching
senescence. The recolonisation of C.
insculpta will be limited by the size and
distribution of remnant habitat patches
where the beetle has survived as well
as the dispersal capability of adult C.
insculpta. The recent disaster of the 2019
re, though greatly limiting the available
food and habitat resource for C. insculpta,
will in turn offer a new opportunity for
O. hookeri, a successional species, to
germinate and re-establish, providing a
future food resource for C. insculpta.
References
Bonham, K., Richards, K., Spencer, C.P.,
Grove, S., Reid, C., Byrne, C., Hird, D.
& Throssell, A. (2013). Observations
of the Miena Jewel Beetle Castiarina
insculpta (Carter, 1934) in the summer
of 2012–13. The Tasmanian Naturalist
135: 104–109.
Bowden, D. (2010). Fishing for a jewel
beetle. Forest Practices News 10(2): 1–2.
Kirkpatrick, J.B., Bridle, K.L. & Wild,
A.S. (2002). Succession after re
in alpine vegetation on Mount
Wellington, Tasmania. Australian
Journal of Botany 50: 145–154.
Richards, K. & Spencer, C.P. (2016).
Observations of Castiarina insculpta
(Miena Jewel Beetle) in 2016. The
Tasmanian Naturalist 138: 66–67.
Richards, K. & Spencer, C.P. (2017).
New distribution and foodplant
observations for several Coleoptera
species in the Tasmanian Central
Highlands, summer 2017. The
Tasmanian Naturalist 139: 99–106.
Richards, K. & Spencer, C.P. (2019).
Notes on the ecology of the
Tasmanian alpine cockroach
Polyzosteria sp. Burmeister, 1838
(Blattodea: Polyzosteriinae) including
parasitism by Gordian worms
(Nematomorpha: Gordioida). The
Tasmanian Naturalist 141: 27–33.
Smith, B.J., Reid, C. & Gordon, T.
(2004). Rediscovery of the Miena
jewel beetle (Castiarina insculpta Carter,
1934), formerly listed as extinct. The
Tasmanian Naturalist 126: 31–34.
Spencer, C.P. & Richards, K. (2014).
Did Castiarina insculpta (Miena Jewel
Beetle) ride on the sheep’s back? The
Tasmanian Naturalist 136: 50–58.
Threatened Species Section (2020).
Listing Statement for Castiarina insculpta
(Miena Jewel Beetle). Department of
Primary Industries, Parks, Water and
Environment, Tasmania.
