Trichoptera: Limnephilidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoLimnephilus coloradensis(Banks, 1899)Updated 21 February 2026
TSN 116133 NotesDescribed as Goniotaulius coloradensis in 1899 by Nathan Banks. One of several nondescript pale brown caddis adults that live in the mountains.Good LinksOn this website:Limnephilus Introduction Other Websites: Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Limnephilus coloradensis at GBIF Photos, Map, Museum specimens, DNA - Barcodinglife.org ReferencesAl Mousa,MDA 2020 Studies on the Odonata and Trichoptera of high-elevation lakes of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. MS Thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. 187 pages. PDFQuote from pages 84-85: "Limnephilus coloradensis (Banks) 1899 was recorded and collected from 13 lakes from the years 1925 to 2020 (Fig. 3.10, Appendix 4) in Boulder (3), Grand (2), Jackson (1), and Larimer (7) counties at an elevation of 2,795-3,345m." Al Mousa,MDA; Nachappa,P; Ruiter,DE; Givens,DR and Fairchild,MP 2022 Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) of montane and alpine lakes of northern Colorado (USA). Western North American Naturalist, 82(3), pp.563-576. PDF Quote from page 571: "Limnephilus coloradensis (Banks, 1899) was well represented historically and recently from 13 lakes across Boulder, Grand, Jackson, and Larimer counties. Limnephilus castor Ross and Merkley, 1952, was less common but found as recently as 2020, whereas the remaining endemic species were less common, patchily distributed, and not recently encountered." Banks,N 1899 Descriptions of new North American neuropteroid insects. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 25:199-218. PDF Described as Goniotaulius coloradensis  Dodds,GS and Hisaw,FL 1925 Ecological studies on aquatic insects. IV. Altitudinal range and zonation of mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies in the Colorado Rockies. Ecology 6(4)380-390. Abstract PDF Herrmann,SJ; Ruiter,DE and Unzicker,JD 1986 Distribution and records of Colorado Trichoptera. Southwestern Naturalist 31 4, 421-457. Abstract and first page The authors show this species is present in Gunnison County. The following was copied from page 442: "Drainages: Arkansas, Colorado, Gunnison, North Platte, South Platte. Habitat: lakes, seeps. Altitudinal range: 2743 to 3658 meters. Adult Collection Dates: 10 July to 10 September. Commentary: Banks reported the type locality as Fort Collins, Colorado. The altitude at Fort Collins (1519m) is inconsistent with that of our lowest collection site (2743m). Therefore we doubt the validity of Fort Collins being the type locality for this species." 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 31, Figure 87, there is an illustration of a Limnephilus coloradensis paramere. Ross,HH and Merkley,DR 1952 An annotated key to the nearctic males of Limnephilus (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae). American Midland Naturalist (47)435-455. first page This was a widely used key to the adults of Limnephilus until the publication of Ruiter's key below. Ruiter,DE 1995 The adult Limnephilus Leach (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) of the new world. Vol. 11. Ohio Biological Survey, College of Biological Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 200 pages The best key for identifying adult Limnephilus caddisflies. Swegman,BG and Ferrington,LC 1980 New records of western Trichoptera with notes on their biology. Great Basin Naturalist 40(3) 287-291. PDF Abstract: "Western records for 27 species of Trichoptera are given; a majority of the records are from the Beartooth Mountains of northwestern Wyoming. In addition, examples of variation in the male genitilia of Limnephilus coloradensis (Banks) are figured and the female is described. Some comments regarding the larvae of Allomyia (Imania) are presented." 
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 88: "The type locality for this species is Fort Collins, Colorado (Banks, 1899) although no additional records from Fort Collins or at a similar elevation were available. Herrmann and others (1986) questioned the validity of Fort Collins being the type locality for this species because all of their records like those herein, where collected from much higher elevations." The elevation range is 8,600-11,200 feet and the adults emerge from July-September. |