Neophylax kolodskii (Trichoptera: Uenoidae), A New Species from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,U.S.A.

Neophylax kolodskii sp. n. from Great Smoky Mountains National Park is described and illustrated from adult specimens.     

The effects of willow and eucalypt leaves on feeding preference and growth of some Australian aquatic macroinvertebrates

The effect of leaf species (willow, Salix fragilis L., and white gum, Eucalyptus viminalis Labill.) and leaf state (senescent or green) on the feeding selectivity and growth rates of three species of macroinvertebrate Notalina sp. Mosely (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae), Koorrnonga sp. Campbell and Suter (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) and Physastra gibbosa (Gould) (Mollusca: Planorbidae) were tested in the laboratory. All three species of macroinvertebrate selected green willow most strongly over the other leaf types (senescent willow, green eucalypt and senescent eucalypt). Growth rates of P. gibbosa and Notalina sp. were significantly greater on green willow than on the other leaf types. We were unable to measure the growth of Koorrnonga sp. Invertebrates had access to softer internal tissues of leaf material during preference trials, therefore we do not think that leaf structure was the main influence on selection between these materials. Green willow material may have been a better food source because of the noticeably thicker biofilm that it supported, and this material may also retain higher levels of nutrients than abscissed leaves. We speculate that willow leaves may provide a preferred source of food but will be available for less time than native eucalypt detritus.     

Phylogeny of Grumichellini Morse, 1981 (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) with the description of a new genus from southeastern Peru

Osflintia manu, new genus, new species, of long-horned caddisfly (Leptoceridae: Triplectidinae: Grumichellini) is described and illustrated from southeastern Peru. The phylogeny of Grumichellini Morse (Leptoceridae: Triplectidinae) is revisited and hypotheses of homology of some morphological characters are reconsidered. The monophyly of the tribe is corroborated and the phylogenetic relationships of its included genera are inferred to be (Triplexa (Gracilipsodes ((Grumichella, Amazonatolica) (Atanatolica, Osflintia, n. gen.)))) from adult and larval characters. Diagnostic characters of the new genus include the following: reduced tibial spur formula (2, 2, 2), loss of forewing crossvein sc-r1, hind wing discoidal cell closed, hind wing fork IV present, pair of long setae on tergum IX of the male genitalia, and pair of processes on the apex of segment X.     

Sexual dimorphism in relation to swarming and pair formation patterns in leptocerid caddisflies (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae)

North European Leptoceridae (Trichoptera) perform three types of swarming flight patterns: (1) swarming males of Athripsodesand Ceracleafly in horizontal zigzag patterns over the water surface, (2) the Mystacidesspp. perform vertical zigzag movements, and (3) the flight of males of Triaenodes unanimisMcLach. is a mixture of the horizontal and vertical zigzagging. Also three groups of pair formation behavior can be distinguished. In the first group, of Athripsodesand Ceraclea,the females fly into the male swarms, where they are grasped and carried to the riparian vegetation by the flying males with the females hanging upside-down in genitalia coupling. In the second group, a Mystacidesfemale is caught by a male, when approaching a swarm and both use their wings to fly in tandem to the shore where they copulate. In the third group, of Triaenodes bicolor(Curt.) and Oecetis lacustris(Curt.), the males fly searching for females sitting on aquatic plants and when a female is found the male lands and they copulate immediately while clinging to the plant. The different swarming and mating behaviors might have favored selection for three types of sexual dimorphism: (1) longer forewings in males than females in species which fly in copula, (2) larger eyes in males of the vertically zigzagging species, and (3) much smaller males in the group where males search for females sitting on aquatic plants. In the second group approaching females are detected by males before reaching the swarm and in the third group the female almost always mates with the male which is the first to find her. In conclusion, we suggest that females of Athripsodesand Ceracleahave a greater choice among swarming males than do females of Mystacides, T. bicolor,and O. Lacustris.     

Le genre Leptocerina Mosely 1932 à Madagascar: systématique,habitat et répartition géographique (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae)

Connu d’Afrique continentale et des Mascareignes, le genre Leptocerina Mosely est, ici, signalé de Madagascar. Cinq espèces endémiques sont décrites, quatre sont nouvelles, la cinquième a été décrite dans le genre Leptocerus Leach. Leur répartition géographique est étudiée et analysée en fonction de critères écologiques.     

Age-associated male mating success in three swarming caddis fly species (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae)

Abstract. 1. In the three caddis fly species, Athripsodes albifrons (L.), A. cinereus (Curtis) and Mystacides azurea (L.) (Leptoceridae; Trichoptera), males swarm above the water surface of lakes or rivers. Receptive females fly to swarms and are chased and/or courted by males. After one of the swarming males has grasped an approaching female, the pair flies in tandem to the shore where they copulate.
2. In males, wing wear indices were negatively correlated with the ratio of fat/dry weight. In the only species in which comparisons were possible between newly emerged and swarming males (M. azurea), the former had significantly lower indices. Unmated females on average had lower wing wear indices than spent females. These facts suggest that wing wear reflects relative age.
3. The tandem males had significantly less wing wear than those in swarms, and are probably therefore younger. Age is therefore likely to be significant in relation to mating success.
4. Among males of the same relative age, tandem males had higher fat ratio than swarming ones, indicating that male mating success was also influenced by traits other than age. It is suggested that the shortest possible duration of the period of adult prematurity is adaptive, especially in insects with marginal adult food intake.     

A new species of Amphoropsyche (Trichoptera, Leptoceridae) from Ecuador, with a key to the species in the genus

A new species of Amphoropsyche Holzenthal is described from Ecuador. It is similar to a group of species with dorsomesal processes on the preanal appendages (i.e., Amphoropsyche woodruffi Flint & Sykora, Amphoropsyche refugia Holzenthal, and Amphoropsyche aragua Holzenthal), but can be distinguished from these and other members of the genus by the short, digitate dorsomesal processes on the preanal appendages and the broad lateral processes of tergum X of the male genitalia. A key to males of the 14 species now known in the genus is presented based on characters of the genitalia.     

Male load-lifting capacity and mating success in the swarming caddis fly Athripsodes cinereus

Abstract. Males of the caddis fly Athripsodes cinereus (Curtis) (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) swarm above the water surface of lakes and streams. Females enter swarms and are pursued until grasped by a male. The pair couple their genitalia in the air, and then the male alone flies the pair to the shore where they settle and complete the copulation. About 8% of the pairs (total n = 384 pairs) dipped in the water soon after the coupling manoeuvre and about 25% of those then separated. Males in dipping pairs ( n = 13) were on average smaller and relatively older than the males that successfully carried their mate to the shore ( n = 54). No differences were found for flight muscle ratio (weight of flight muscles/total body weight) or relative load (total load/flight muscle weight). Males were larger than females (wing length), though typically female Trichoptera are the larger sex. Large male body size in A. cinereus may be an adaptation for flight during pairing; i.e. larger males are more likely to be able to carry larger loads.     

Wing-scales of Pseudoleptocerus chirindensis Kimmins (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae)

The African species Pseudoleptocerus chirindensis belongs to a small group of Trichoptera most unusual in having scaly wings. Electron microscope studies reveal 13 structurally distinct kinds of cuticular process on the wings, including several types of squamiform and hair-like macrotrichia. These are described in detail and their possible functions inferred. The optical properties of the scales forming the colour pattern of the forewings are related to ultrastructural elements including diffraction and thin film interference systems. Trirhopteran scale structure is compared with that of the Lepidoptera, the sister-group in the Amphiesmenoptera. Differences are found and it is tentatively concluded that wing-scales have evolved independently in the two orders.