Ceraclea joannae, new species, feeds on the freshwater snail Somatogyrus virginicus Walker (Hydrobiidae). Our study is the first report of prey other than sponges for a Ceraclea species and the first report of snail predation by Trichoptera larvae in North America. Ceraclea joannae larvae and adults resemble those of C. diluta (Hagen); however, the larva of the new species has a dark head, sickle-shaped mandibles, and a dark pronotum except for a pair of unique, conspicuous, oblique, white bands; the male differs in the slightly longer superior appendages, more nearly straight ventral margins of tergum X, slightly stouter inferior appendages, and the more-tapered apex and less-pronounced ventral notch of the phallus. This new species of Ceraclea is known from only 3.2 km of the Little River (Montgomery County, North Carolina, USA), downstream of the developing town of Asheboro. Because of its rarity and limited distribution, Ceraclea joannae may be highly vulnerable to changes in water or habitat quality.
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1 December 2005
A new species of Ceraclea (Trichoptera:Leptoceridae) preying on snails
John C. Morse,
David R. Lenat
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Journal of the North American Benthological Society
Vol. 24 • No. 4
December 2005
Vol. 24 • No. 4
December 2005
Athripsodina
Ceraclea joannae
endangered species
Hydrobiidae
Leptoceridae
North Carolina
Somatogyrus virginicus