It’s not your 1970s famous band. Just the same, the beetles of Calanasan, Apayao, are now getting the much-needed recognition.
The little known family of bugs, scientifically known as Coleoptera, Cicindelidae, are thriving in the forests of Apayao province, one of the few remaining unexplored areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region in northern Philippines.
Like other insects, the beetles have been existing for millions of years, yet very little is known about them.
The reason is that there are very few scientific researches that deal with the often considered noxious and annoying small animals.
Fortunately, scientists are now starting to discover and introduce them to the world, and to highlight their importance and reasons why they should be protected and conserved.
Scientific research
A group of scientists have started to look closer into the tiger beetles in the Philippines with the hope of highlighting the richness of the country’s biological diversity.
In their paper, titled “Annotated list of tiger beetles [Coleoptera, Cicindelidae] in Calanasan, Apayao Province, Luzon, Philippines,” authors—Milton Norman D. Medina, Analyn A. Cabras, Jayson Ibañez, Guiller Opiso and Reagan Joseph T. Villanueva—listed 12 species of tiger beetles found in Calanasan.
The paper was published in the Check List, a journal of biodiversity data that was published by Pensoft, an independent academic publishing company.
As Calanasan is seldom explored, so are its tiger beetles, which are mostly site-endemic.
Unesco Biosphere Reserve
The study was conducted as part of a biodiversity expedition in Calanasan in support of the area’s bid to be recognized as a Biosphere Reserve of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
Medina, one of the senior authors of the paper and expert in tiger beetles, said the study is very timely for the bid for the prestigious title.
“It is very timely because the area is applying for Biosphere Reserve of Unesco. Tiger beetles are very good indicator species. Unlike other insect groups, they are habitat-specific. It means they can identify whether the area is disturbed or not. Hence, they [residents] can prioritize which areas need to be restored,” he said.
Around 75 percent of the species the scientists collected were endemic, or can only be found in Calanasan, which shows the high value in preserving the forest of the area.
Learning place for sustainable development
Unesco defines biosphere reserves as “learning places for sustainable development.”
“They are sites for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity. They are places that provide local solutions to global challenges. Biosphere reserves include terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems,” Unesco said.
Calanasan and its tiger beetles
The municipality of Calanasan is a first-class municipality and the largest in Apayao.
It has a huge tract of primary lowland forest, which remains poorly studied, especially for beetles, according to the paper.
Tiger beetles are often used as biological indicator of the health and disturbance of ecosystems because it is vulnerable to forest destruction.
As tiger beetles prey on small insects like mosquitoes, they can also be used as a biological control agent. Hence, they help prevent insect-borne diseases, like dengue and malaria.
A total of 80 tiger beetle individuals, representing two subtribes, seven genera, and 12 species were documented by the team.
High tiger beetle endemism
In their paper, the authors said the list is the first for Calanasan and includes nine of the 12 endemic tiger beetle species in the country.
They are confident that more species of the beetles are expected to occur in Calanasan, and additional thorough exploration in the area would likely add to the present list.
The team said the number of tiger beetle species in Calanasan is similar to that found in Compostela Valley province in the Davao region in Mindanao in southern Philippines. Based on a 2016 study, it reported 12 species and seven genera.
Moreover, the rate of endemism in Calanasan is higher (75 percent) than in Mainit Hot Spring Protected Landscape in Mindanao (62.5 percent) based on a 2016 study.
Meanwhile, the authors noted that a study in Northern Mindanao reported a similar rate of endemism of 77 percent among 12 species to their Calanasan study.
Healthy ecosystem
Medina said the ecosystem of Calanasan must be very pristine for the tiger beetles to thrive in an area.
Ibañez, a coauthor of the paper, agreed. “These beetles have many roles in an ecosystem. They are predators of smaller insects, hence, help maintain ecological balance.”
Like the dung beetles, the tiger beetles help break down animal manure, thereby, making the forest healthy.
“Some tiger beetles feed on mosquitoes, some feed on aphids. So they are also natural biological control agents,” he said. “Tiger beetles are beneficial to the environment.”
Ibañez said the health of Apayao’s forest, including Calanasan, can be attributed to the fact that the province has low population density, which make the environment sustain human pressure.
Indigenous practices
Another positive factor in Apayao, he said, are the indigenous practices of various indigenous peoples (IP) that protect the forests.
The Lapat system, an indigenous natural resource-management system of the Isnags of Apayao, is very strong.
When an area is declared as protected under the Lapat system, they become sites of rich biodiversity because the tribe protects it.
“There are penalties for trespassing a Lapat. They [Isnags] believe in bad omen. So the people are afraid to violate Lapat [or they will] be cursed or experience bad omen,” he said.
IPs and local laws
Also, the League of Peace Arbitrators (Lopa), composed of elders of the IP of Apayao, work together with local government units (LGUs) for the protection of Lapat areas. This help boost the sustainable management of the province’s forest resources.
Lopa, Ibañez said, determines the penalties for the violators of Lapat, apart from the penalty imposed by the concerned LGU of Apayao.
“The diversity of the beetles in the area reflects on the success of the protection of the area because of the practices of the people,” he said.
Forest protection
Tribal leaders and local officials work hand-in-hand to protect Apayao’s forest.
According to Ibañez, around 200 forest guards are currently employed by the provincial government.
“The LGU hired indigenous people, just like what they did for the protection of the Philippine eagle in Apayao, to help protect the forest,” he said.
Because of the rich biodiversity in Apayao, the needs of the people are met, he said.
“Because of the rich biodiversity, the province’s agriculture is very productive, hence, poverty is not much of a problem,” he said.
He said unlike in other areas, Apayao’s forest remains intact as the Lopa and LGU have declared the forests “off-limits” to destructive development activities like commercial logging.
Apayao’s forest is among the very few areas where hunting is prohibited, thus, it continues to provide safe haven to deers and wild boars, Ibañez said.
So when you see a tiger beetle, remember Calanasan, remember Apayao and its rich biodiversity.
Image credits: Jayson Ibañez