Trichoptera: Limnephilidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoPsychoglypha subborealis - Snow Sedge, Northern Caddisfly(Banks) 1924Updated 24 February 2026
TSN 115981 Good LinksOn this website:Introduction to the Limnephilidae Other Websites: Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Psychoglypha subborealis at GBIF Photo - BugGuide.net 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 page 85: "Psychoglypha subborealis Banks, 1924, a lotic species that occurs in spring runs, streams, and pools (Wiggins 2014) was recorded from 10 locations (Fig. 3.14, Appendix 4), in Boulder (4), and Larimer (6) Counties, from an elevation of 2,500-3,430m from 1981 to 1998." 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 570: "Other broadly distributed Nearctic limnephilids encountered frequently were Psychoglypha subborealis (Banks, 1924), Asynarchus montanus, Nemotaulius hostilis (Hagen, 1873), Anabolia bimaculata (Walker, 1852), and Homophylax flavipennis Banks, 1900, whereas others were infrequently encountered (e.g., Lenarchus fautini and Limnephilus secludens Banks, 1914) or only encountered once (e.g., Limnephilus tarsalis and Limnephilus thorus) (see Supplementary Material 1)." Anderson,NH 1967 Biology and downstream drift of some Oregon Trichoptera. Canadian Entomologist 99(5):507-521. Banks,N 1924 Descriptions of new neuropteroid insects. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 65:421-455. Described as Chilostigma subborealis.  
Cummins,KW; Wilzbach,MA; Gates,DM; Perry,JB and Taliaferro,WB 1989 Shredders and riparian vegetation. BioScience, 39(1), pp.24-30. PDF Danks,HV 2007 How aquatic insects live in cold climates. The Canadian Entomologist, 139(4), pp.443-471.PDF Denning,DG 1970 The genus Psychoglypha (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae). Canadian Entomologist 102(1):15-30. Detmer,TM; McCutchan Jr,JH and Lewis Jr,WM 2017 Predator driven changes in prey size distribution stabilize secondary production in lacustrine food webs. Limnology and Oceanography, 62(2)592-605. PDF Ellis,RJ 1978 Overwinter occurrence and maturation of gonads in adult Psychoglypha subborealis (Banks) and Glyphopsyche irrorata (Fabricus). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 54(3) 178-180. PDF Ellis,RJ 1978 Seasonal abundance and distribution of adult caddisflies of Sashin Creek, Baranof Island, southeastern Alaska (Trichoptera). Pan Pacific Entomologist. 54:199-206 PDF Flint,OS, 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 the genus Psychoglypha and the species Psychoglypha alaskensis on pages 82-83.  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. Jackrel,SL and Broe,TY 2023 Intraspecific variation in leaf litter alters fitness metrics and the gut microbiome of consumers. Oecologia, 202(4), pp.769-782. Abstract: "Biodiversity can have cascading effects throughout ecosystems. While these effects are better understood at coarser taxonomic scales of biodiversity, there has been a resurgence in investigating how biodiversity within species may have cascading effects on communities and ecosystems. We investigate the broader trophic implications of intraspecific variation in the riparian tree, Alnus rubra, where immediately local or 'home' litter decomposes faster than 'away' litter in aquatic and terrestrial systems. With climate change shifting the distributions of plants across the globe, it is essential to understand how shifts in the intraspecific traits of leaf litter may have reverberating effects throughout ecosystems. Here, we find that intraspecific variation in leaf litter has fitness implications for invertebrate consumers, including the algivorous Dicosmoecus and detrivorous Psychoglypha caddisflies, which exhibited increased body size and muscle nitrogen content when incubated within in-situ river mesocosms supplied with local A. rubra litter. Litter source altered caddisfly gut microbiomes by increasing relative abundance of methanogens and methanotrophs among the non-local treatment group. Additionally, Dicosmoecus supplied with non-local litter may have shifted their diet towards a higher proportion of algae, as inferred from shifts in gut microbiome composition and isotopic ratios of muscle tissue. Overall, our study demonstrates that shifting distributions of plant genotypes across the globe may cause plant-microbe mismatches that will disrupt patterns of decomposition and may have consequences on the fitness and foraging behavior of consumers." Lessard,JL; Merritt,RW and Cummins,KW 2003 Spring growth of caddisflies (Limnephilidae: Trichoptera) in response to marine-derived nutrients and food type in a Southeast Alaskan stream. International Journal of Limnology 39(1) 3 - 14. PDF Abstract: "The short-term stimulation of production, due to marine-derived nutrients (MDN) from spawning salmon, is well documented for certain trophic levels in stream communities (e.g., algae and insect biomass). The effect of these nutrients on the stream ecosystem as a whole, however, remains unclear especially later in the year. Trichopterans have been shown to feed on salmon and other fish carcasses and there is evidence for greater growth rates in the presence of salmon tissue. To address the question of long-term MDN subsidy on trichopterans, we investigated the growth of three limnephilid caddisflies in the spring in the Harris River on Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska. The Harris River has a natural waterfall barrier to salmon and receives large runs of pink (O. gorbuscha) and chum (O. keta) salmon each fall. We selected two shredding caddisflies (Onocosmoecus unicolor) and (Psychoglypha spp.) and one facultative scraper, (Dicosmoecus atripes) for our study. We had two objectives : 1) compare the spring growth of larval caddisflies in a stream section that receives a large autumn run of salmon with their growth in a stream section that is blocked from receiving salmon (due to an impassable waterfall), and 2) compare the growth of shredders with that of a facultative scraper when provided either leaves or biofilm on rocks as food. Insects were placed in growth boxes in May 2001 with either conditioned alder leaves or stream rocks as food sources. The boxes were placed along with temperature loggers in both the salmon (below the waterfall) and non-salmon (above the waterfall) reaches. The boxes were removed 40 days later. In-stream samples were taken of each caddisfly initially and at the end of the experiment to establish in-stream growth versus growth in the boxes. All larvae were coaxed from their cases, measured for total wet length, dried and weighed. Only D. atripes and Psychoglypha spp. were growing during our experiment and both showed very high relative growth rates in the Harris River. Psychoglypha spp. and O. unicolor were both significantly larger in the leaf boxes and D. atripes was significantly larger in the rock boxes. Both D. atripes and Psychoglypha spp. had significantly greater relative growth rates between food types (on biofilm on rocks and leaves respectively). These results support the notion that D. atripes are most likely facultative scrapers at least in their first year of growth. None of these caddisflies showed differences in their final mean weights or relative growth rates between stream sections, suggesting no effect of MDN on their spring growth in the Harris River. Further research on caddisfly communities in the fall and winter will help clarify if MDN has an influence on the abundance and life history of these species closer to the salmon run. This study questions the long-term influence of MDN on stream communities, particularly those populations that do most of their production in the spring, months after salmon carcasses are no longer visible." Mesick,CF and Tash,JC 1980 Effects of electricity on some benthic stream insects. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 109(4), pp.417-422. Abstract: "Pulsed direct current, square-wave alternating current, alternating current, and direct current, at voltages similar to those currently in use for electrofishing, induced drift by Ameletus dissitus, Baetis spp., Cinygmula par, Hesperoperla pacifica, Psychoglypha subborealis, Hesperophylax occidentalis, and Epeorus longimanus under simulated stream conditions. Of nine species of insects shocked at these voltages, only Simulium jacumbae did not drift. There was an inverse relationship between the propensity of an individual to drift and the minimum level of voltage required to induce drift. Threshold body voltages varied among and within species at different body sizes and at different temperatures. Temporary reductions in productivity with potential loss of species will occur in areas that are electrofished so frequently that rates of insect displacement are greater than rates of insect recolonization." Schmid,F 1952 Le group de Chilostigma. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 47(1):75-163. Discusses adult taxonomy. Winterbourn,MJ 1971 The life histories and trophic relationships of the Trichoptera of Marion Lake, British Columbia. Canandian Journal of Zoology 49(5)623-635. 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 93: "This Nearctic, transcontinental caddisfly is the common Psychoglypha species in the SPRB. The larvae apparently are confined to cool running waters (Wiggins and Parker, 1997). Nimmo (1971) concluded that the adults of this species can tolerate overwintering but Wiggins (1996) states it overwinters as eggs or first instar. The December record suggests it can overwinter as adults." The elevation range is 4,950-11,500 feet and the adults emerge from April-October. |