Out In Force - Brachycentrus

Moved

… v belov, 10 May, 2014 - 9:28pm

Brachycentridae

one of the Brachycentrus species

… Dave Ruiter, 21 April, 2014 - 11:49pm

Thank you

for that. Is it possible to tell beyond? Do I need to get a photo of some specific part? I see none are yet logged for Maryland...

… Ashley Bradford, 22 April, 2014 - 1:27pm

MD - Brachycentrus

I cannot determine Brachycentrus to species by habitus photos. You would need a good photo of a cleared male to be sure what this is. That would require you to collect and preserve them.

Maryland has been fairly well collected given that the Smithsonian is there in DC and I am aware of the following Brachycentrus species have been reported from MD so far:

Brachycentrus (Sphinctogaster) appalachia Flint, 1984
Brachycentrus (Sphinctogaster) incanus Hagen, 1861
Brachycentrus (Sphinctogaster) lateralis (Say, 1823)
Brachycentrus (B.) nigrosoma (Banks, 1905)
Brachycentrus (Sphinctogaster) numerosus (Say, 1823)

… Dave Ruiter, 22 April, 2014 - 5:39pm

Thank you for that, too.

I'm interested in getting things to species for the Maryland Biodiversity project. If I get a chance to collect some, I will, but am not sure how to tell males from females - is there an obvious way?

http://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/index.php

Unless I searched wrong, it appears they have no Brachycentrus species listed there yet.

… Ashley Bradford, 22 April, 2014 - 5:46pm

palps

There is some sexual dimorphism in Brachycentrus. The males have 3-segmented maxillary palps while the maxillary palps of the female are 5-segmented. Not all caddis have obvious sexual dimorphism, other than the genitalia. It is common practice to collect a dozen or two of a morphotype [if you can find a dozen :-)] and hope you get both sexes. Folks that understand caddis taxonomy well can also separate most of the taxa based on the female alone.

You have lots of great resources available in that area. Check at the university entomology departments and museums. They may know of someone who can help out or have a student that is looking for a project that will meet your needs. If you cannot find anything in the area let me know.

The Maryland Diversity project has no Brachycentrus listed as occurring in Maryland? You have alot of work to do :-)

… Dave Ruiter, 22 April, 2014 - 6:03pm

Thanks for

telling me what's involved! It sounds like I should go back there with a net and hope the show is still going on. The air was so think with them that getting hold of a dozen would be no problem. I don't know how long these displays go on for, though, and how soon I can get back...

… Ashley Bradford, 23 April, 2014 - 11:42am