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Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae of Gunnison County, Colorado

Hydropsyche cockerelli
Spotted sedge

Banks, 1905
Updated 8 October 2024
TSN 115489

Good Links

On this website:
Hydropsyche Introduction

Other Websites:
Photos, Map, Museums, DNA - Barcode of Life Data System

Illustration - University of Alberta Entomology Collection Species page
     Has description, habitat information, range and more.

References

Alstad,DN 1980 Comparative biology of the common Utah Hydropsychidae (Trichoptera). American Midland Naturalist 103, 167-174.

Balistrieri,LS; Mebane,CA and Schmidt,TS 2020 Time-dependent accumulation of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn in mayfly and caddisfly larvae in experimental streams: Metal sensitivity, uptake pathways, and mixture toxicity. Science of the Total Environment, 732. html

Banks,N 1905 Descriptions of new neuropteroid insects. Transactions of American Entomological Society 32, 1-20.
Nathan Banks 1905 description of the caddisfly Hydropsyche cockerelli Nathan Banks 1905 Figures 8 and 9 illustrating of the male genitalia of the caddisfly Hydropsyche cockerelli Nathan Banks 1905 legend for figures 8 and 9 of the male genitalia of the caddisfly Hydropsyche cockerelli

Canton,SP and Ward,JV 1981 The aquatic insects, with emphasis on Trichoptera, of a Colorado stream affected by coal strip-mine drainage. Southwestern Naturalist 25 4, 453-460.
     They studied Trout Creek where it runs through the Edna Coal Mine in northwestern Colorado. The mine spoils were 30 meters from the edge of the creek (approximately a 100 foot buffer zone). They found the aquatic insect density (numbers per square meter) and biomass (weight in grams per square meter) did not change above and below the mine. The Shannon-Weaver Diversity index also showed no difference between sites. However the community structure (which species were present and proportions) did change. Since there were irrigation water and cattle influences at their downstream site, their results may reflect these additional water uses. They note the biggest visible change at this mine is the loss of willow and alder trees downstream of the mine. The caddisfly population changed the most between sites, shifting from a mix of families above the mine to dominance by Hydropsychidae and Glossosomatidae below the mine.
Quote from page 457: "The Hydropsychidae (Arctopsyche inermis, Hydropsyche cockerelli, and H. oslari) were unimportant at C2 (reference site), comprising only 3% of trichopteran numbers, while at C4 (mine affected), with increased abundance of Hydropsyche spp., they accounted for 16% of the density."


Coutant,CC 1982 Positive phototaxis in first instar Hydropsyche cockerelli Banks (Trichoptera). Aquatic Insects, 4(1), pp.55-59.
     Abstract: " This note reports observations of positive phototaxis in newly hatched larvae of the caddis fly Hydropsyche cockerelli Banks (Trichoptera) and comments upon the possible importance of this behavior in the Columbia River, USA, for dispersal from shoreline sites of oviposition during spring flooding."

Djernæs,M 2011 Structure and phylogenetic significance of the sternum V glands in Trichoptera. Zootaxa 2884: 1-60.
     Description of the sternum V glands of male and female.

Hauer,FR and Stanford,JA 1982 Ecology and life histories of three net-spinning caddisfly species (Hydropsychidae: Hydropsyche) in the Flathead River, Montana. Freshwater Invertebrate Biology 1:18-29.
     They present life history data on the three species H. cockerelli, H. oslari and H. occidentalis in the tailwaters of Hungry Horse Dam. Quotes from the abstract "H. cockerelli and H. oslari were significantly (P < 0.05) more abundant than H. occidentalis at all sampling sites. H. cockerelli larvae grew primarily during late summer and early autumn while temperatures were > 7 degrees C. Larvae overwintered in 5th instar and emerged as adults in mid-June."

Hauer,FR; Stanford,JA and Ward,JV 1989 Serial discontinuities in a Rocky mountain river. II. Distribution and abundance of trichoptera. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 3(1) 177-182.
     Abstract: "River regulation in the headwaters and middle reaches of the Gunnison River, Colorado, significantly altered distributions and abundances of Trichoptera fauna. Twenty-five species were collected from mainstream samples, with the greatest species richness occurring at an unregulated, rhithron segment above the central reach dams. At sites immediately below the three hypolimnial-release dams and a reregulation dam, species richness was reduced 35-90 per cent and abundance > 95 per cent. Net-spinning caddisflies were the dominant trichopterans at unregulated sites; Arctopsyche grandis in the upper reaches (218 organisms, 586 mg dry mass m-2) and Hydropsyche cockerelli, H. occidentalis and Cheumatopsyche pettiti in the lower river (9041 total organisms, 6621 mg m-2), downstream from the last dam. The observed distributional pattern of low trichopteran densities in dam tailwaters and high hydropsychid densities at sites 60-80 km below the central reach dams is a classic expression of continuum resets and adjustments in response to stream regulation as predicted by the Serial Discontinuity Concept. "

Herrmann,SJ; Ruiter,DE and Unzicker,JD 1986 Distribution and records of Colorado Trichoptera. Southwestern Naturalist 31 4, 421-457.
     They note the habitat for this species is streams and rivers, the altitudinal range is 1311 to 3109m and adult collection dates are 16 May to 7 September. Quote from page 428: "In Colorado this species is common and widespread in the foothills and montane zones both east and west of the continental divide." They list this species as present in Gunnison county.

McCarty,JD; Cross,WF; Albertson,LK; Tumolo,BB and Sklar,LS 2022 Life histories and production of three Rocky Mountain aquatic insects along an elevation-driven temperature gradient. Hydrobiologia, 849(16), pp.3633-3652. PDF
     Abstract: "Although temperature is known to influence individual traits such as growth, body size, and fecundity, few studies have examined how these relationships influence population-level secondary production in natural settings. We quantified life history traits and production of three dominant aquatic insects (Ephemeroptera: Ephemerella infrequens; Drunella doddsii; Trichoptera: Hydropsyche cockerelli) along an elevation-driven thermal gradient in the northern Rockies. We predicted that production would be highest at sites where temperature regimes lead to the largest terminal body size, individual fecundity, and reproductive potential (i.e., eggs per female x abundance of mature nymphs or larvae). In general, we found that temperature had idiosyncratic effects on life history traits of the study taxa, with no consistent effect of temperature on production. Although growth rates were generally highest during the warm months, growth did not consistently covary with temperature among sites along the elevation gradient. Terminal body size also differed among sites and was inconsistently related to mean temperature and reproductive potential. One of three taxa, D. doddsii, showed patterns entirely consistent with predictions, including smallest body size, reproductive potential, and secondary production at the warmest, low-elevation sites. Our findings suggest that connections among temperature regime, life history characteristics, and secondary production may not be straightforward, and are likely influenced by characteristics unmeasured in our study, including factors that influence survivorship throughout the larval phase, as well as adult mating or oviposition success. Such additional information will enrich our understanding of thermal effects on aquatic insects, and may contribute to predicting how these taxa may respond to ongoing changes in climate."

Nimmo,AP 1987 The adult Arctopsyche and Hydropsyche (Trichoptera) of Canada and adjacent United States. Questiones Entomologicae 23:1-189.

Olah,J and Johanson,KA 2008 Generic review of Hydropsychinae, with description of Schmidopsyche, new genus, 3 new genus clusters, 8 new species groups, 4 new species clades, 12 new species clusters and 62 new species from the Oriental and Afrotropical regions (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) Zootaxa 1802: 1-248 Abstract and excerpt
     According to the Trichoptera World Checklist, this animal was transferred from Ceratopsyche back to Hydropsyche in this paper.

del Rosario,RB; Betts,EA and Resh,VH 2002 Cow manure in headwater streams: tracing aquatic insect responses to organic enrichment. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 21: 278-289 Abstract

Schefter,PW; Wiggins,GB 1986 A systematic study of the nearctic larvae of the Hydropsyche morosa group (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae). Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publications of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Schefter,PW; Wiggins,GB and Unzicker,JD 1986 A proposal for assignment of Ceratopsyche as a subgenus of Hydropsyche, with new synonyms and a new species (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae). Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 67-84.
     They redescribed Hydropsyche cockerelli as Ceratopsyche cockerelli. This was reversed by Olah and Johanson, 2008, see above.
Abstract: "The Hydropsyche morosa group is recognized as Hydropsyche subgenus Ceratopsyche. Through study of type specimens and of series collected over much of the range, geographic variation is assessed in Hydropsyche (C.) alhedra Ross and Hydropsyche (C.) cockerelli Banks. Hydropsyche (C.) racona Denning and H. (C.) riola Denning are designated as junior subjective synonyms of H. (C.) alhedra; and H. (C.) bicornuta Denning and H. (C.) jewetti Denning as junior subjective synonyms of H. (C.) cockerelli. Revised diagnoses are given for the two species. Diagnosis and description are provided for the male and female of Hydropsyche (C.) aenigma n. sp. from New York State; this species is contrasted with its close relatives H. (C.) alternans (Walker) and H. (C.) centra Ross. "


Voelz,NJ and Ward,JV 1996a Microdistributions, food resources and feeding habits of filter-feeding Trichoptera in the Upper Colorado River. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 137 3, 325-348.

Zuellig,RE; Kondratieff,BC and Rhodes,HA 2002 Benthos recovery after an eposodic sediment release into a Colorado Rocky Mountain river. Western North American Naturalist 62 1, 59-72.


Brown, WS 2005 Trichoptera (Caddisflies) of Gunnison County, Colorado, USA
www.gunnisoninsects.org