Diptera.info - Discussion Forum: Psychodidae larvae

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Psychodidae larvae
evdb	#1 Posted on 03-09-2013 18:39
Member Location: France (Loiret) Posts: 1357 Joined: 05.12.11	Hi ! France, Center, today, size # 10 mm The same place I found Clogmia albipunctatus, siphon of shower : evdb attached the following image: [24.37Kb] Edited by evdb on 04-09-2013 13:07 Eugene


atylotus	#2 Posted on 06-09-2013 19:36
Member Location: Amsterdam, NL Posts: 1166 Joined: 29.05.09	Dear Eugene larvae of Psychodidae are notoriously difficult to identify, even under the microscope. tribes can be recognized fairly easy, but for genus- and species level (if possible) a microscope is needed. I can only say that this is some kind of Pericomini, which includes Clogmia, but many more. It is no Clytocerus, but I can't tell you which. You need to see the shape of the head, the number of platelets on the tergites, and the shape of the mentum to know more.


evdb	#3 Posted on 06-09-2013 20:46
Member Location: France (Loiret) Posts: 1357 Joined: 05.12.11	Thanks, it's at the same place I found this one in january : http://www.dipter...d_id=44051 and this imago in april : http://www.dipter...d_id=46888 but, of course nothing is obvious ! Edited by evdb on 06-09-2013 21:03 Eugene


Gunnar M Kvifte	#4 Posted on 07-09-2013 08:08
Member Location: Kassel, Germany Posts: 436 Joined: 18.08.09	atylotus is wrong. Psychodid larvae are easier to identify to genus than most other Diptera larvae, and Clogmia has never been placed in Pericomaini.


evdb	#5 Posted on 07-09-2013 08:28
Member Location: France (Loiret) Posts: 1357 Joined: 05.12.11	Thanks Gunnar, I add a picture of pupae shooted at the same time et same place : evdb attached the following image: [31.06Kb] Eugene


atylotus	#6 Posted on 07-09-2013 10:11
Member Location: Amsterdam, NL Posts: 1166 Joined: 29.05.09	Hello Gunnar Personally I find (psychodidae) larvae difficult to identify and I skip pupae by lack of keys. I only have access to Vaillants' series and only few other papers. What can you recommend? and what is the name of this larva/pupa? Edited by atylotus on 07-09-2013 10:11


Gunnar M Kvifte	#7 Posted on 07-09-2013 15:08
Member Location: Kassel, Germany Posts: 436 Joined: 18.08.09	Vaillant (1971-1983) is probably the best thing you can identify genera with, except that he messes up the nomenclature. His Telmatoscopus is really Clogmia, his Panimerus (Krekiella) is Telmatoscopus, his Satchelliella is really Pneumia and his Duckhousiella is Paramormia... I personally don't work much with larvae, but my impression is that Psychodid larvae are better known than most Diptera families, and that they are more variable in their taxonomic characters than for instance Chironomids. They can still be difficult, of course, but it is nowhere near the chaos in Mycetophilids, Ceratopogonids or even most Brachycera... Some species are even easier to identify as larvae than as adults! Pupae are, on the other hand, very difficult; there are no keys at all, only a paper by Satchell on the respiratory horns of Psychoda.