162 WISE 
North Island west coast beaches, as at Kawhia and Waikato River heads (Fig. 
57), are black from the presence of ironsands which continue on several west coast 
beaches north of the Manukau Hbr. as far as the south end of Muriwai Beach. The 
dark campbelli colour pattern on tiger beetles occurs there but it is now seen that as 
the black sands thin out and become patchy northwards along this beach the tiger 
beetle black background marks become thinner and the creamy colour area becomes 
more extensive. The trip meter of a vehicle, driven northwards along the beach from 
the southern entrance, was used to measure the kilometres as far as 16.4 km. Another 
entrance was used at 19.3 km and specimens there were of the perhispida pattern. 
North of the Kaipara Hbr. the perhispida pattern is continued northwards on cream 
sands to Ninety Mile Beach except for the Waimamaku beach, south of Hokianga 
Hbr. There (Waimamaku), both cream and whitish cream sands occur and tiger beetle 
specimens show a range of reduction of the dark marks to the giveni pattern combined 
with a very pale colour. North of the Hokianga Hbr. a long beach of pale cream sand 
extends beyond Mitimiti (Fig. 56) where specimens have a very thin but complete 
perhispida pattern. Beaches further north on the same coast have varied sands and 
again there are reductions in the dark marks on specimens. 
Ninety Mile Beach (actually ca. 90 km long) extends along the west coast of the 
narrow northernmost peninsula of the North I. There are only a few direct access 
points which are indicated here by the name of the district behind them. From Ahipara 
at the south end to Hukatere, sands are dark cream and specimens have the perhispida 
pattern. After investigations in that area and on the far northern coast it was found 
that the giveni pattern occurred on tiger beetles at Te Paki and the Bluff, towards the 
northern end of Ninety Mile Beach. Subsequently the trip meter of a vehicle was used 
to measure distances of collecting places along the beach from Hukatere to The Bluff, 
30.5 km to the north, where only the giveni pattern was found. At Te Werahi Beach, 
further north, dark marks are somewhat variable and colour is darker on some 
specimens. Although the beach fore-dune sand is pale, there is an outcrop of yellow 
sand on cliffs behind the beach. The same mustard yellow sand occurs on the surface 
some 3.6 km inland from Hukatere and a yellowish-cream tiger beetle with typical 
perhispida pattern has been collected there. 
On the northern coast of the peninsula, in Spirits Bay, the beach at Kapowairua 
(Fig. 55) has very pale sands with small shell pieces and the elytral dark marks on 
specimens are very reduced and on some very faint with colour a very pale cream. 
From Parengarenga Hbr. south there are long beaches of glistening white quartz sand 
which extends to the tip of Karikari Pen. At Rarawa Beach (Fig. 54) and on the 
Karikari Pen. tiger beetles are clear white with the giveni pattern of dark marks — very 
reduced, very faint or absent (except for the sutural mark). 
Beaches on the north-east coast of the North I., from east of Karikari Pen. (Fig. 
53) almost to Whangarei Hbr. have pinkish-brown sand and, despite searches over 
many years, tiger beetles have not been found. On this coast there are also not the long 
beaches, or groups of beaches, as elsewhere in the area under consideration. 
South of the Whangarei Hbr. on the east coast, long whitish beaches stretch 
southwards from Marsden Point (Fig. 52) to Pakiri but the sand has a different 
