Incorporation Of Batrachospermum Gelatinosum (Rhodophyta) Into Cases Of Ochrotrichia Wojcickyi (Trichoptera : Hydroptilidae)

1 Pages·1998·0.36 MB·

by  J B Keiper

256 ENTOMOLOGICALNEWS
SCIENTIFIC NOTE
INCORPORATION OF BATRACHOSPERMUM
GELATINOSUM (RHODOPHYTA) INTO CASES OF
OCHROTRICHIA WOJCICKYI (TRICHOPTERA:
HYDROPTILIDAE)1
J.B.Keiper2,D.A.Casamatta3,B.A.Foote
Microcaddisflylarvae(Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae)oftenincorporatefilamentsofalgaeinto
theircases(Wiggins 1996).Sheathetal.(1995)studiedtheincorporationoffreshwaterredalgae
(Rhodophyta) into the cases ofa variety ofcaddisfly species. They reported that hydroptilid
larvae ofDibusa, Hydroptila, and Ochrotrichia had Rhodophyta incorporated into theircases,
butnoOchrotrichiawereidentifiedtospecies.Tosupplementtheirstudy,wereporttheincorpo-
ration ofthe rhodophytan Batrachospermum gelatinosum (L.) De Candolle into the cases of
Ochrotrichia wojcickyiBlickle.AlthoughB.gelatinosumhasbeenassociatedwiththecasesof
midgelarvae(Diptera:Chironomidae)(Sheathetal. 1996),thisisthefirstreportofB.gelatinosum
usedascaddisflycasematerial.
LarvaewerecollectedfromcobblesubstratainanunnamedloworderstreamlocatedinSalt
Fork State Park (4006'03 N,8128'41 W), Guernsey Co., Ohio, on 26 May 1997.They were
transported tothelaboratory,placed inaeratedrearingchambers(KeiperandFoote 1996) with
field-collected rifflerocks, and the adults reared forspeciesdetermination. Larvae were never
observedtoconsumeB.gelatinosuminthelaboratory.Livingalgaecoveredapproximately5-15%
ofcasesexamined.
SandgrainsoftenconstitutemostofthecasematerialusedbylarvaeofOchrotrichia(Wiggins
1996).The incorporation ofB. gelatinosum into thecases ofthe specimenscollected suggests
thatO. wojcickyiisnotspecificinitscasematerialrequirements.ThefateoflivingRhodophyta
incorporatedintocaddisflycasesremainsunknown.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WethanktheOhioBiologicalSurveyforsupportingthecollectingtripsoftheseniorauthor.
L. Boydeletourofthe Ohio DepartmentofNatural Resources, Parks and NaturalAreaskindly
supplied thecollecting permit forOhiostate parks.A. CollierandJ.A.Johns (KSU)critically
reviewedthemanuscript.
LITERATURECITED
Keiper,J. B. and B.A. Foote. 1996.Asimplerearingchamberforlotic insectlarvae. Hydro-
biologia339: 137-139.
Sheath,R.G.,K.M.Muller,D.J.Larson,andK.M.Cole. 1995.Incorporationoffreshwater
Rhodophyta intothecases ofcaddisflies (Trichoptera) from NorthAmerica. J. Phycol. 31:
889-896.
Sheath,R.G.,K.M.Muller,M.H.Colbo,andK.M.Cole. 1996.Incorporationoffreshwater
Rhodophytaintothecasesofchironomidlarvae(Chironomidae,Diptera)fromNorthAmerica.
J. Phycol. 32: 949-952.
Wiggins, G. B. 1996. Larvae ofthe North American caddisfly genera (Trichoptera). 2nd ed.
Univ.TorontoPress,Toronto. 457pp.
1 ReceivedSeptember27, 1997.AcceptedNovember22, 1997.
2Dept.ofEntomology,UniversityofCalifornia,Riverside,CA92521.
3Dept.ofBiological Sciences,KentStateUniversity, Kent,Ohio44242-0001,
ENT.NEWS 109(4)256,September&October, 1998