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Emergence of some caddisflies (Trichoptera) from a wooded stream in southern Ontario

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Abstract

Twenty-eight species of nine families of caddisflies (Trichoptera) were identified in 170 samples taken over an 8-month period from five emergence traps placed on a second-order, forested, cold-stenothermal stream on the Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada.

A mean of 980.9 caddisflies m−2 of streambed was obtained over the entire sampling period. Eleven common species accounted for 92.8% of the total emergence with specific proportions ranging from 23.8% (Wormaldia moesta) to 0.11 % (Rhyacophila sp.). The use of various kinds of traps in other studies and their effects on the detection of species composition and abundance are discussed and compared with the present study.

Although the distributions of all the common species were invariant over time, four species showed low to high degrees of patchiness in the streambed; the other seven common species were uniformly distributed. However, a large residual variance suggested a subtle mechanism of microhabitat selection by the larvae and (or) pupae, not detectable by even the small emergence traps used.

Both sexes of 15 species, only males of 4 and only females of 9 species were collected. Eight of the eleven common species showed significant departures from a balanced sex ratio and five exhibited a protandry of from 1 to 3 weeks. Neither this study nor others have been able to establish a predictable pattern of sex ratios in Trichoptera.

The emergence periods and patterns of the eleven common species are described and compared with other studies. Of these common species, one emerged in the spring, seven during the summer and three during the late summer or early fall. Ten species had a short emergence period with a distinct peak and a significantly skewed pattern. One species,Parapsyche apicalis, exhibited a prolonged emergence period, no distinct peak and a significantly platykurtotic2 pattern. With the exception ofLepidostoma sp. A, the emergence patterns of the common species were unimodal.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Ontario, Waterloo, Canada

    M. P. Singh, S. M. Smith & A. D. Harrison

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  2. S. M. Smith
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Singh, M.P., Smith, S.M. & Harrison, A.D. Emergence of some caddisflies (Trichoptera) from a wooded stream in southern Ontario. Hydrobiologia 112, 223–232 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008088

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