Backyard and Beyond

This is a Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis), seen last week in Virginia. The Chesapeake region is their last holdout. They used to live on Long Island beaches, but no longer. Creatures evolved to beach habitat — others include the endangered Piping Plover — never saw the four-wheel drive coming. This was at Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve, a state-managed property. A couple were letting their three unleashed dogs run all over the beach and the adjoining marsh. Pretty typical: we see this blithe contempt for the world, the assumption that it exists only for ourselves, everywhere we go.