CHIRONOMUS Journal of Chironomidae Research

Describing the undiscovered

2018-12-28T08:16:13+00:00

Cricotopus (s. str.) latellai sp. n., a new rheophilic species of the tremulus-group from the Italian and French Maritime Alps (Diptera: Chironomidae)

2018-10-03T08:04:35+00:00

Cricotopus (Cricotopus) latellai sp. n. is described and diagnosed based on material comprising male and female pharate adults, pupal exuviae and larvae recently collected in some glacial streams in both the Italian and French Maritime Alps. Taxonomic notes provided in this paper include: description of C. latellai sp. n. as male and female adults, pupal exuviae and last instar larvae. The diagnosis of the Cricotopus tremulus-group is supplemented with additional characters in the male adult and pupal exuviae. Cricotopus latellai sp. n. keys near C. mantetanus Moubayed-Breil, 2016 and C. storozhenkoi Makarchenko & Makarchenko, 2016. Geographical distribution of C. latellai sp. n. is currently restricted to the Italian and French Maritime Alps. It belongs to the Tyrrhenian community of glacial relic species, which are considered to be indicators of climate change in this biogeographical region. Remarks, taxonomic position, and ecology of the new described species are given.

A new species in the Rheocricotopus (R.) effusus group from Canada with a review of the Nearctic species of Rheocricotopus and Parametriocnemus (Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae)

2018-12-28T08:16:14+00:00

Rheocricotopus (Rheocricotopus) reduncusoides sp. n. is described from Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada. Its discovery was made while curating and examining specimens deposited by H. V. Danks in 1969 at the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa, Canada. We also report the first Canadian record of Parametriocnemus hamatus (Johannsen, 1934) from Québec, based on previously unsorted material deposited at the Canadian National Collection. In this paper we provide distributional records of the Nearctic species of Rheocricotopus Thienemann and Harnisch and Parametriocnemus Goetghebuer, and present a key to the Nearctic adult males of these genera.

Descriptions of four Nearctic Procladius Skuse pupal exuviae

2018-12-28T08:16:14+00:00

Associated Procladius Skuse (Holotanypus Roback) material from the Sublette collection was found to have specimens with undescribed immature stages. Pupal exuviae of two species are described for the first time: P. barbatulus Sublette and P. clavus Roback. Adult and larval features are included for P. barbatulus. In addition, specimens of Nearctic P. denticulatus Sublette are compared to Palearctic P. signatus (Zetterstedt) to determine if exuviae can separate these species or suggest that P. signatus is a senior synonym. Finally, associated pupal and larval traits of P. prolongatus Roback are compared to the original description, corroborating the theory that features are unique enough to warrant subgeneric status.

Oviposition behavior and host records for the parasitic midge Trichochilus lacteipennis (Johannsen) (Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae)

2018-12-26T20:27:14+00:00

Adult female Trichochilus lacteipennis were observed to extrude long strings of eggs (up to 15 cm) in flight over a lake in Maine, USA. Once extruded females dropped to the water surface and released the strings. Larvae of T. lacteipennis are parasitic on Elliptio complanata at this site and probably additional unionid mussel species elsewhere. Based on our dissections of parasitized mussels and previous reports, it appears T. lacteipennis spend all or nearly all of their larval life within their mussel host, with first instars initially free-living inside the mantle. At some point larvae enter the marsupium and complete larval development on a diet of mussel eggs and/or glochidia before pupating within the marsupium.

First record of the genus Heterotrissocladius (Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae) from the Neotropical region

2018-12-26T20:27:59+00:00

Here we report the occurrence of Heterotrissocladius (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae) for the first time in Central America, as well as in the Neotropical region. The report is based on sub-fossil chironomid head capsules from surface sediments of a high elevation lake, Lago Magdalena, Guatemala.

Memories of D. (Don) H.D. Edward 1933-2018

2018-12-27T08:15:34+00:00