Family HYDROPSYCHIDAE

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Introduction

This is a large family of caddis flies found throughout the world in a great variety of habitats; there are some small species, but the majority are medium to large (wing span 8–40 mm).

The family is known from all faunal regions and contains more than 900 species in 60 genera; 34 species and 8 genera are recorded from Australia. Dean (1991, 1999) provided preliminary keys for identification of late instar larvae. Wells (2011) described two new species from Lord Howe Island. Wells & Neboiss (2018) reviewed the subfamily Diplectroninae for Australia.

Diagnosis

Adult: ocelli absent. Maxillary palpi 5-segmented in both sexes, but reduced or absent in certain genera of Macronematinae; segment 5 usually as long as or even longer than the other four segments together, in only a few genera is it about the same length as segment 4. Antennae slender, filiform, about as long as forewing, except in the subfamily Macronematinae, where they are much longer. Mesoscutum without setal warts; scutellum with one median setal wart. Wings with complete venation; discoidal and median cells closed in forewing; hindwing much wider than the forewing.

Tibial spurs 0–2: 2–4: 2–4.

Larva: all three thoracic segments are covered with sclerites; the abdominal segments have lateral and ventral abdominal gills, branched from a single basic stalk. Abdominal segments are covered with fine setae; anal prolegs project freely from the abdomen, claws usually with brush of long setae. In most genera, two groups of fine transverse ridges on the ventral surface of the head are used to produce sound by rubbing against the raised edge of the front femur.

Larvae construct fixed retreats of plant and rock fragments; a capture net is constructed in front to strain food particles from the water current and, therefore, almost all species are confined to lotic habitats. They feed on algae, organic particles and on small invertebrates captured in the nets. The pupal chamber is constructed from small stones and sand grains, sometimes incorporating plant debris. A silken cocoon is spun within the chamber.

General References

Cartwright, D.I. & Dean, J.C. 1982. A key to the Victorian genera of free-living and retreat-making caddis-fly larvae (Insecta: Trichoptera). Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 43: 1-13 [Date published 8 Oct. 1982]

Dean, J.C. 1991. Preliminary Keys for Identification of Late Instar Larvae of the Australian Hydropsychidae (Trichoptera). Presented at the Taxonomy Workshop held at The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Albury, February 1991. Unpublished.

Dean, J.C. 1999. Preliminary Keys for the Identification of Australian Trichoptera Larvae of the Family Hydropsychidae. Identification Guide No. 22. Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, Albury. 40 pp.

Mosely, M.E. & Kimmins, D.E. 1953. The Trichoptera (Caddis-flies) of Australia and New Zealand. London : British Museum (Natural History) 550 pp. [Date published 6 Feb. 1953]

Neboiss, A. 1984. Review of taxonomic position of Australian and New Guinean species previously ascribed to Macronema (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 96: 127-139

Wells, A. 2011. The Trichoptera of Lord Howe Island, including 3 new species, larvae and keys. Zootaxa 2987: 45-55

Wells, A. & Neboiss, A. 2018. Australian Diplectroninae reviewed (Insecta: Trichoptera), with description of 21 new species, most referred to a new genus. Zootaxa 4415(1): 1–44

Wiggins, G.B. 1982. Trichoptera. pp. 599-612 in Parker, S.P. (ed.). Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms. New York : McGraw-Hill Vol. 2.

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