Habitat preferences of four chironomid species associated with aquatic macrophytes in an irrigation reservoir

Habitat preferences of four chironomid species associated with aquatic macrophytes were studied during the vegetation season from April to October at an irrigation reservoir located in Nagoya, Japan.The two smaller sized species,Corynoneura cuspis Tokunaga andPentapedilum tigrinum Hashimoto, were found to be abundant in two floating-leaved plants,Nymphoides indica O. Kuntze andTrapa japonica Flerov. Phytophages,C. cuspis larvae were observed freely moving on the surfaces of leaves and stems within both of these floating-leaved plant communities. Although found within both plant communities,P. tigrinum larvae, as facultative leaf miners, were more concentrated on the surfaces and within the leaves ofN. indica, which have a thin epidermis and thick mesophyll layer.The two larger sized species,Glyptotendipes viridis (Macquart) andPentapedilum sordens (van der Wulp), were found to be living principally within the stems ofN. indica and the petioles ofT. japonica. These parts of the plants, with thin epidermis and many lacunae in the parenchyma, are favorable for miners.