experiments suggested that both salinity 

 and adult densities influenced egg-laying 

 and maturation of young. Salinities of 

 35-58 ppt produced the largest numbers of 

 nymphs and adults, while 150 ppt produced 

 none. Crowding adults led to increased 

 numbers of eggs per female. 



A large number of true flies 

 (Diptera) inhabit coastal salt marshes. 

 Sanders (1964) listed 23 species from Mugu 

 Lagoon in Ventura County. However, Nagano 

 and Hogue (in press) note that he did not 

 use specialized collecting techniques and 

 hence missed a number of species. Assis 

 de Moraes (1976) found 97 species at 

 Anaheim Bay, and Nagano et al. (1981) 

 collected 55 species at Ballona Creek. 



Various species of flies (Diptera) 

 serve as herbivores, carnivores, or 

 decomposers in the salt marsh ecosystem. 

 Adults as well as the aquatic larvae of 

 the brine fly (Ephydridae) are an 

 important food source for other insects 

 and for fish and shorebirds. 



The larvae of long-legged flies 

 (Dolichopodidae) are common subterranean 

 inhabitants of coastal mudflats. The 

 adults are often seen on the surface of 

 pools in the salt marsh where they hunt 

 prey such as brine flies and other 

 soft-bodied insects. 



The salt-marsh mosquitos such as 

 Aedes taeniorhynchus and A. squamiger 

 (Culicidae), are common in southern 

 California coastal wetlands where they 

 breed in saline and brackish pools. The 

 aquatic larvae can tolerate highly 

 variable salinities because of their 

 effective osmoregulatory systems. Because 

 of their blood-feeding habit, they are 

 targets for various abatement programs. 



There are a number of species of 

 moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) that 

 utilize plants in coastal ecosystems as a 

 larval food source. The adult of the salt 

 marsh measuring worm ( Perizoma custodiata; 

 Geometridae) is a conspicuous moth often 

 observed flying about on sand dunes and 

 salt marshes in the spring, summer and 



fall. Other moths restricted to the 

 southern California coastline are the salt 

 marsh plume moth ( Agdistis americana ; 

 Pterophoridae) and the salt marsh cutworms 

 ( Lacinopolia striata ; Euxoa river si 

 Noctuidae) . 



The adult pygmy blue butterfly 

 ( Brephidium exilis ; Lycaenidae) is often 

 seen fluttering around Atriplex and 

 Chenopodium plants. Nagano et al. (1981) 

 found the pygmy blue to be an indicator of 

 saline soils. 



The wandering skipper ( Panoquina 

 errans ; Hesperidae, Figure 40) is found 

 along the sea coast of southern and Baja 

 California in close association with salt 

 grass ( Distichlis spicata ) , which is the 

 food of its larvae. Populations of the 

 wandering skipper are so reduced in number 

 that it was proposed for threatened status 

 in 1976. Nagano is currently 

 investigating the distribution of this 

 species; he estimates that the largest 

 population in the United States exists at 

 Tijuana Estuary. Habitat destruction is 

 the primary cause of its declining 

 abundance. 



Beetles (Coleoptera) are common 

 inhabitants of coastal salt marshes. 

 Leaf beetles ( Chrysomelidae) , darkling 

 beetles (Tenebrionidae) , and soft-winged 

 flower beetles (Melyridae) are a few of 

 the families common in coastal ecosystems. 

 Minnesang (1980) found 114 species at 

 Anaheim Bay, while Nagano et al. (1981) 

 collected 86 species at Ballona Wetland. 



A number of rove beetles 

 (Staphylinidae) inhabit salt marshes and 

 have been investigated by Moore (1956, 

 1964). Many of the species burrow in the 

 mud and salt flats (Figure 40), and their 

 subterranean activities must be important 

 in aerating soils and in reversing the 

 compaction of soils which follows off-road 

 vehicle use of these habitats. 



Ground beetles (Carabidae), 

 especially members of the genus Bembidion , 

 are often seen running about hunting prey 

 on the marsh mud. The taxonomy of this 



67 



