Takao Nozaki

Larvae and females of two Stenopsyche species in Taiwan with redescription of the male of S. formosana (Insecta: Trichoptera)

Larvae and females of two Stenopsyche species, S. formosana Kobayashi and S. drakon Weaver, are described for the first time. They were associated with the adult male through mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons. The male of S. formosana, which has been recorded as Stenopsyche banksi Mosely from Taiwan, is redescribed. The males of S. formosana and S. banksi can be distinguished from each other by the shape of segments IX and X, and endothecal spines. In larvae, S. formosana and S. drakon are distinguishable from each other and from other known species by the combination of different dark marking patterns and shapes of no. 18 setae of the head, and by the shapes of forecoxae. The larval morphology of S. formosana and S. drakon suggests that the phylogenetic relationships based mainly on male genitalia in the genus Stenopsyche should be reconsidered.

The family Hydropsychidae Curtis (Trichoptera) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, southwestern Japan

The caddisfly family Hydropsychidae Curtis is revised for the Ryukyu Archipelago, southwestern Japan. Four new species are described based on adults: Diplectrona uken Ito and Nozaki sp. nov., Homoplectra crassicornea Nozaki and Ito sp. nov., Homoplectra trifurcata Nozaki and Ito sp. nov. and Cheumatopsyche aira Ito and Nozaki sp. nov. Based on examination of type specimens of species described from Taiwan in 1910-1930s: Cheumatopsyche uchidai Kobayashi 1987 and Hydropsyche yaeyamensis Tanida 1986 are synonymized with C. clavalis Martynov 1930 and H. orbiculata Ulmer 1911, respectively. Five East Asian species: Diplectrona burha Schmid 1961, Diplectrona albofasciata (Ulmer 1913), Cheumatopsyche clavalis Martynov 1930, Hydropsyche verrucosa (Ulmer 1911), and Macrostemum formosicolum (Matsumura 1931) are recorded from Japan for the first time and re-described. Adults of two known species, Cheumatopsyche okinawa Oláh and Johanson 2008 and Macrostemum okinawanum (Matsumura 1931) are re-described. Females of five species, previously known only as males, are described for the first time.

Phylogeographic analyses of the Stenopsyche caddisflies (Trichoptera: Stenopsychidae) of the Asian Region

Phylogeographic studies based on molecular information have been attracting attention because they have come to play a significant role in the elucidation of the population structure and phylogenetic relationships of species. Furthermore, molecular tools have helped to reveal evidence for cryptic biodiversity, including in many cases the discovery of new species. We focused on the phylogeography of stenopsychid caddisflies. The family Stenopsychidae has a distribution area mainly within the Southern Hemisphere, and only the Stenopsyche caddisflies have spread into parts of the Asian region of the Northern Hemisphere. They inhabit most of the major rivers/streams in Japan at relatively high density and are large and voluminous-bodied species among the benthic animals of Japanese rivers. Therefore, they are considered to be the most important species in the river ecosystem. We conducted phylogenetic analyses for 21 species of the genus Stenopsyche. The results of our genetic analyses inferred from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear elongation factor (EF)-1α strongly supported the previous morphologically based classification. Stenopsyche species inhabiting southern areas of the Asian region also have been evaluated as being lineages that diverged at a relatively earlier period than the species inhabiting northern areas of Asia. Therefore, a gradual trend has suggested an evolutionary history in which distributional expansion occurred from southern Asia toward northeastern Asia and was accompanied by corresponding species differentiation. Furthermore, newly observed genetically cryptic lineages not yet known to exist were found among the previously described species.

Discovery in Japan of the second species of the genus Dolichocentrus Martynov (Trichoptera: Brachycentridae)

A new species Dolichocentrus sakura is described from western Honshu, Japan. This is the second species of the genus Dolichocentrus Martynov. Descriptions of female and immature stages of this genus are provided for the first time.