CHIRONOMUS Journal of Chironomidae Research

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

2018-06-29T12:10:51+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.

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

2018-02-07T09:21:29+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

2018-08-28T10:40:56+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.