Trichoptera of Gunnison County, ColoradoIntroduction to the Caddisfly family Leptoceridae
Longhorned Case Makers Leach in Brewster, 1815
Updated 23 August 2023
TSN 116547
Leptoceridae larvae have very long antennae, thus the common name "Longhorned Case Makers". Oecetis larvae also have exceptionally long maxillary palps, which look like long-horns as well. The larvae also have much longer hind legs than the fore or middle legs. They have single abdominal gills.
Species List
Oecetis inconspicua
Triaenodes grisea
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References
Hauer,FR; Stanford,JA; Ward,JV 1989 Serial discontinuities in a Rocky Mountain river. II. Distribution and abundance of Trichoptera. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 3, 177-182.
Leach,WE 1815, in Brewster's Edinburg Encyclopedia 9(1) Entomology pp 52-172.
Leach describes the caddis family Leptoceridae on page 136.
Mebane,CA; Schmidt,TS; Miller,JL and Balistrieri,LS 2020 Bioaccumulation and toxicity of cadmium, copper, nickel, and zinc and their mixtures to aquatic insect communities. Environmental toxicology and chemistry, 39(4) 812-833. PDF
Merrill,D 1969 The distribution of case recognition in ten families of caddis larvae (Trichoptera). Animal Behavior 17(3)486-493.
Morse,JC 1981 A phylogeny and classification of family group taxa of Leptoceridae(Trichoptera:). Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Trichoptera, Perugia, 1980, G.P. Moretti (ed.),pp 257-264. The Hague: Junk.
Ross,HH 1938 Descriptions of nearctic caddis flies (Trichoptera) with special reference to the Illinios species. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 21 4, 101-183.
Ross,HH 1944 The Caddis Flies, or Trichoptera, of Illinois. Natural History Survey of Illinois, Los Angeles, CA. 326 pages.
Srayko,SH; Mihalicz,JE; Jardine,TD; Phillips,ID and Chivers,DP 2023 Overwintering capacity of water boatmen (Hemiptera: Corixidae) and other invertebrates encased in the ice of shallow prairie wetlands. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 101(6), pp.434-447. PDF
Abstract: "Overwintering in shallow habitats presents a serious obstacle for aquatic invertebrates. Here we investigated the little-known ability of water boatmen (Hemiptera: Corixidae), an aquatic insect, to survive the winter encased in air pockets within the ice of shallow wetlands. We extracted and experimentally thawed large blocks of ice from prairie wetlands in Saskatchewan, Canada, from which we examined the species composition and revival of corixids. While multiple corixid species were present in wetlands prior to freeze-up, a single species, Cymatia americana Hussey, 1920, comprised the vast majority of corixids that were found within the ice later in winter. Only 4%-9% of corixids, all Cymatia americana, revived after ice thawing over both study years. Being encased within an air pocket appeared to be necessary for the survival of corixids in the ice, with up to 300 individuals grouped together. Other invertebrate taxa also revived after thawing, including Haliplidae and Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) encased within air pockets both alongside corixids and on their own, as well as Coenagrionidae (Odonata), Phryganeidae and Leptoceridae (Trichoptera), Chironomidae (Diptera), and Physidae and Planorbidae (Basommatophora), which appeared to be encased in solid ice. The ability to overwinter inside ice represents a little understood survival mechanism of aquatic invertebrates in shallow wetlands, which could confer energetic and reproductive advantages to those that endure until spring."
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