Trichoptera: Limnephilidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoGrammotaulius lorettaeDenning 1941Updated 2 Jan 2010
TSN 116314  Grammotaulis case, part of the head and a few legs are barely peeking out of the left side. DescriptionLarval cases are often the biggest structures pulled out of a pond in the upper East River Valley or in the ponds near Irwin Lake in the late spring or early summer. They are always found with Carex aquatilius or Carex rostrata, or another large grass they can use to build their 10cm long cases. They have a tan or golden head with brown spots. The earliest instars are easily confused in the pond with Limnephilus picturatus. However, L. picturatus has a darker head and is a small to average sized caddis in our valley in its final instars, while Grammotaulis larvae are big and their cases are uniquely gigantic in their last few instars. Also L. picturatus is found at higher elevations, while Grammotaulis are present at or below 3000 meters.LinksOn this website:Limnephilidae Introduction Other Websites: Photos, Map, Museum specimens - Barcodinglife.org ReferencesDenning, DG. 1941 The genus Grammotaulius in North America, with the description of a new species (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae). The Canadian Entomologist 73:232-235.Flint, O. S., Jr. 1960. Taxonomy and biology of Nearctic limnephilid larvae (Trichoptera), with special reference to species in eastern United States. Entomologica Americana 40:1-120. Describes the larvae of this species from a pond near Irwin. Herrmann,Scott J; Ruiter,Dave E; Unzicker,John D (1986): Distribution and records of Colorado Trichoptera. Southwestern Naturalist 31(4), 421-457. Notes this species is found in Gunnison County. Schmid, F. 1950 Monographie du genre Grammotaulis Kolenati (Trichoptera, Limnophilidae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 57(7):317-52. The author studied adults of Grammotaulis. Schmid, F. 1964 Some nearctic species of Grammotaulis Kol (Trichoptera, Limnophilidae). Canadian Entomologist 96(6):914-917. More studies of Grammotaulis adults. Wissinger, S.A., W.S. Brown, and J.E. Jannot. 2003 Caddisfly life histories along permanence gradients in high altitude wetlands in Colorado (U.S.A.). Freshwater Biology 48(2). Abstract  (427 KB)Brown, Wendy S. 2005 Trichoptera (Caddisflies) of Gunnison County, Colorado, USA www.gunnisoninsects.org |