Trichoptera - Brachycentrus lateralis

Moved

… Claude Pilon, 28 September, 2010 - 10:22am

Moved

Moved from Brachycentrus numerosus.

Your comments are very interesting. Thanks! And your are right to be careful.

… Claude Pilon, 2 July, 2008 - 12:40pm

Qualification

You're welcome, Claude, but I would be more comfortable if this specimen were backed off to genus. Although this type of case is attributed to numerosus, I'm not sure that is enough to say definitively that it is that species. Prior to 1984, that probably would have been a perfectly acceptable ID. However, the genus has been revised, and case types have not been associated with all Brachycentrus. (Some even change type as they grow.)

I think it is quite safe to say that this is Brachycentrus, a member of the subgenus Sphinctogaster, and either numerosus or a sister species. The other candidates would seem to be appalachia, solomoni (both new species, Flint, 1984) or incanus (though the larvae of this species seem not to have been definitively associated with adults--a whole other can of worms.) Unfortunately, I cannot convince myself that this specimen is a dead-on match for any of them. Pehaps this is because it has yet to darken completely and markings/color are not yet fully developed; I don't know.

OK, that's probably much more than you needed (or wanted?) to know, but I do try to be careful.

… Lloyd Gonzales, 29 June, 2008 - 7:09pm

This specimen looks to be Bra

This specimen looks to be Brachycentrus lateralis. It is the only Brachycentrus spp I know that has 3 narrow dark stripes on the dorsum of it's head. The case is also a close match for the B lateralis that I have seen.

… SBeaty, 27 September, 2010 - 5:16pm

Moved

Moved from Caddisflies.

Thanks Lloyd!

… Claude Pilon, 18 May, 2008 - 7:49am

Grannom

This is Brachycentrus. The square-topped case with a round bottom (contructed mostly of silk) is attributed to B. numerosus

… Lloyd Gonzales, 17 May, 2008 - 11:52pm