Description of Diplectrona aiensis Kobayashi, 1987 (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) larvae from Yata Hills, Nara Prefecture, Japan, with notes on habitat and ecology

Abstract

We conducted a field survey and rearing experiment to investigate habitat, larval morphology, and ecology of Diplectrona aiensis Kobayashi, 1987. Larvae of this species look similar to those of D. takaii Nozaki, 2021, originally described as Diplectrona sp. DC by Akagi (1956); however, they can be distinguished by shape of the secondary setae on the head, thoracic nota, and abdominal segments. Our results revealed that generations of D. aiensis have overwintering and non-overwintering cohorts. Larvae build their retreat and capture nets on boulders and among leaf patches and prefer lower water velocity (mean: 22.2 cm/s, range: 1.3 ≦ 52.4 cm/s). Until the third instar, they feed only on detritus and after that, they feed on both animal and plant matter. This is the first study to report morphology, habitat, and ecology of D. aiensis.

Keywords:

• Caddisfly
• feeding habits
• morphology
• water velocity
• substrate

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank their colleagues at the Satoyama Ecology Lab for their assistance in capturing D. aiensis and sorting aquatic macroinvertebrate species, as well as two anonymous revieweres and Dr Helena Shaverdo, Editor-in-Chief, for their help with improving of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

Data from this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.