Trichoptera: Limnephilidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoChyrandra centralis
Pale Western Stream Sedge(Banks) 1900
Updated 16 February 2026
TSN 116018
This is the only species in this genus. It is found in leaves in small spring streams across Canada and south to Colorado, Utah and California. The distinctive case of leaves is arranged to form a lip or flange-like seam along the edge. The larvae's head is round and dark. They also have a large irregular sclerite at the base of each lateral hump and single abdominal gills.
Notes
Commonly mispelled Chyranda centralis.
Synonyms include:
Asynarchus centralis Banks, 1900,
Chyrandra pallida (Banks, 1903)
Chyrandra parvula Denning, 1948
Chyrandra signata (Banks, 1907)
Good Links
On this website:
Limnephilidae Introduction
Other Websites:
Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Chyrandra centralis at GBIF
Photos, Map, Museums, DNA - Barcode of Life Data System
References
Banks,N 1900 New genera and species of Nearctic Neuropteroid Insects. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 26:239-259. PDF
Described as Asynarchus centralis.
Erman,NA 1986 Movements of self-marked caddisfly larvae, Chyrandra centralis (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) in a Sierran spring stream, California, U.S.A. Freshwater Biology 16:455-464.
" SUMMARY. 1. The tendency of larvae of Chyranda centralis to mark themselves by adding coloured plastic segments to their cases was used to study instream movements of the species. Plastic strips of different colours were placed at measured distances down a small spring stream and larvae cut pieces and incorporated them in their cases.
2. Over 50% of the marked population moved upstream into cooler water prior to pupation in an exceptionally dry year. The greatest distance moved upstream by a single larva was 56.9m, In a wet year, when daytime stream temperatures were cooler, 11-28% of the marked population moved upstream. Downstream movement occurred in both years late in the fifth instar.
3. Larvae selected yellow in preference to other colours in laboratory tests and they preferred heavy, textured plastic to light, smooth plastic as they neared pupation.
4. Upstream movements, found also in Desmana bethula (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) in the same spring stream, may be an adaptation for avoiding pupation in areas of high temperature, low oxygen concentration, or intermittent flow."
Herrmann,SJ; Ruiter,DE and Unzicker,JD 1986 Distribution and records of Colorado Trichoptera. Southwestern Naturalist 31 4, 421-457.
The authors show this species present in Gunnison County.
Hodkinson,ID 1975 A community analysis of the benthic insect fauna of an abandoned beaver pond. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 44(2) 533-551. PDF
Irons,JG III 1988 Life history patterns and trophic ecology of Trichoptera in two Alaskan (U.S.A.) subarctic streams. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 66:1258-1265. Abstract
Oláh,J; Andersen,T; Beshkov,S; Bilalli,A; Coppa,G and Kovács,T 2019 Lineage sorting by parameres in Limnephilinae subfamily (Trichoptera): with description of a new tribe, new genera and new species. Opuscula Zoologica (Budapest), 50, pp.3-98. PDF
On page 71, Figure 206, there is an illustration of a C. centralis paramere.
Wiggins,GB 1963 Larvae and pupae of two North American limnephilid caddisfly genera (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae). Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 58(4):103-112.
Describes the larvae and pupae of C. centralis.
Zuellig,RE; Heinold,BD; Kondratieff,BC and Ruiter,DE 2012 Diversity and Distribution of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Stoneflies (Plecoptera), and Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the South Platte River Basin, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, 1873-2010. U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 606, 257 p. PDF - caution 46MB
Quote from page : "The type locality for this species is Clear Creek, Colorado (Banks, 1900) and the female was originally described as Asynarchus pallidus Banks from South Park, Colorado (Banks, 1903). This species was widespread in small, high-elevation streams in the SPRB. Chyranda larvae are easily separated from other genera by a unique flattened leaf/bark case (Wiggins, 1963)." The elevation range is 7,200-11,000 feet and the adults emerge from June-August.
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