Family PHILOPOTAMIDAE

Chimarra sp.

© Copyright P. Zborowski

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Introduction

Small to medium sized caddis-flies (wing span 12–20 mm), often dark, blackish or mottled greyish-brown, all species volant.

The family occurs in all faunal regions. Approximately 12 genera and 400 species are known; two genera and 58 species are described from Australia. The taxonomy of larvae, pupae and females of Victorian Chimarra were dealt with by Cartwright (1990), who also provided a guide to late instar philopotamid larvae (Cartwright 1997). Cartwright's (2002) major review of Australian species of Chimarra more than doubled the number of Chimarra species known for Australia, and another study on Hydrobiosella (Catrwright 2010) added 10 new species.

Diagnosis

Adult: ocelli present. Maxillary palpi 5-segmented in both sexes, the second segment has a meso-distal brush of setae; segment 5 long, flexible. Mesoscutum without scutal warts, although sometimes with small groups of setae; scutellum usually with a pair or a single fused setal wart. Wings elongate, ovoid, venation complete, discoidal cell closed in both wings, median cell closed only in forewing; small hyaline areas at cross-veins and at arculus in the forewing.

Tibial spurs 1: 4: 4 or 2: 4: 4

Larva: slender, pale yellowish with sclerotised parts of the head and pronotum orange, posterior margin of pronotum thickened, black; labrum membranous, T-shaped, anterolateral margins angular; mesonotum and metanotum membranous. Abdominal gills and lateral fringe absent; anal claws simple, without accessory hooks. Larvae live in soft silken tubes or sack-like nets on underside of rocks in running waters. They feed on algae and fine organic particles which are swept by water currents into the larval nets and there picked up by the larva with its specialized labrum.

General References

Cartwright, D.I. 1990. Taxonomy of the larvae, pupae and females of the Victorian species of Chimarra Stephens (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae), with notes on biology and distribution. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 102: 15-22

Cartwright, D.I. 1997. Preliminary Guide to the Identification of Late Instar Larvae of Australian Ecnomidae, Philopotamidae and Tasimiidae (Insecta: Trichoptera). Identification Guide No. 10. Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, Albury. 33 pp.

Cartwright, D.I. 2002. The Australian species of Chimarra Stephens (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae). Memoirs of Museum Victoria 59(2): 393-437

Cartwright, D.I. 2010. Studies of Australian Hydrobiosella Tillyard: a review of the Australian species of the Hydrobiosella bispina Kimmins group (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae). Memoirs of Museum Victoria 67: 1-13

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]

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. 1977. A taxonomic and zoogeographic study of Tasmanian caddis-flies (Insecta: Trichoptera). Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 38: 1-208 [Date published 4 Apr. 1977]

Ross, H.H. 1956. Evolution and Classification of the Mountain Caddisflies. Urbana : Univ. Illinois Press 213 pp.

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