Posted by atylotus on 23-09-2011 16:00
#1
In our country (The Netherlands) 4 species of Dicranota have been reported, D. bimaculata (Schummel), D. pavida (Haliday), D. subtilis Loew and D. claripennis (Verrall). Throughout our country, it is easy to find the larva of Dicranota in brooks and smal rivers. It is only possible to ID them to genus-level. As is may be of interest to ID the larva to species level, I have tried to find out if there are any key's to or descriptions of either of the above species. I was able to track only one (good) description of D. bimaculata (jn Reusch 1988 and Podeniene 2003). In Brindles' 1967 key to the larvae and pupae of British Cylindrotomatidae and Limoniidae it was noted that he had studied the larvae of bimaculata, robusta Lundstroem, claripennis and subtilis. Unfortunately he gives no key or description of either of that species. Furthermore I was able to track a publication by Elliott (1983) entitled: "Life cycle and growth of Dicranota bimaculata (Schumm.) (Diptera; Tipulidae)" in Entomologists Gazette 34: 291-296. I do not have this paper, but still no description of the other 3 species.
In Podenienes' (2003) dissertation the (known) species should be separated by the shape of the mandible, the shape of the abdominal segment and microchaetotaxy, and the length of the stigmal lobes, but still no key or full description.
So my question will be: does anybody now a description of the other 3 species or maybe a key for the larva?
edit: there is a paper by Ujvarosi et al (2010) about Pediciidae from the carpathian basin, in which 2 types of Dicranota are described, without using species name but simply type 1 and type2.
Edited by atylotus on 23-09-2011 16:07
Posted by Andrius on 05-10-2011 16:40
#2
Hi,
I have just talked to V.Podeniene and she said Dicranota larvae are very hardly told apart. Moreover, it is difficult to grow them, so generally there are no proper illustrations for identification of those three other species mentioned by you. I was told Ujvarosi is preparing a paper with some kind of molecular data, so maybe in the nearest future it will be possibe to discern Dicranota larvae by molecular markers and after that someone will make proper illustrations too :)