Contrasting modes of handling moss for feeding and case-building by the caddisfly Scelotrichia willcairnsi (Insecta: Trichoptera)

Cairns, Andi, and Wells, Alice (2008) Contrasting modes of handling moss for feeding and case-building by the caddisfly Scelotrichia willcairnsi (Insecta: Trichoptera). Journal of Natural History, 42 (41-42). pp. 2609-2615.

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Abstract

Final-instar larvae of the microcaddisfly, Scelotrichia willcairnsi sp. nov. (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) were discovered feeding on a moss, Platyhypnidium muelleri in north-eastern Queensland. Not only do the larvae feed on the moss, but their cases are constructed from fragments of moss leaves. Microscopic examination of larval guts and cases showed a total contrast in the angle at which the moss leaves are cut for each purpose: for cases the moss leaves are cut longitudinally, in parallel with the length of the cells, whereas for feeding the leaves are cut perpendicular to the leaf margin, across the cells, presumably an adaptation that releases the cell contents for digestion. The new caddisfly species is described based on the adult males. Scelotrichia willcairnsi represents the first Australian record of the South-east Asian-New Guinean Stactobiini genus Scelotrichia.

Item ID: 6629
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1464-5262
Keywords: moss; caddisfly; new species; feeding behaviour; case building; tropical biology & conservation
Date Deposited: 01 Mar 2010 01:31
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0603 Evolutionary Biology > 060399 Evolutionary Biology not elsewhere classified @ 50%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060204 Freshwater Ecology @ 50%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 100%
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