Trichoptera: Apataniidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoApatania zonella(Zetterstedt, 1840)Updated 18 February 2026
TSN 115954 DescriptionWiggins, 1996 notes that the larvae of all Apatania can be separated from the rest of the Apataniidae (only Allomyia in Gunnison County) by the absence of metanotal sa1 sclerites with the setae in a straight line. However Allomyia gnathos has a very distinctive head shape, once you've seen it, you will never confuse these species.Life HistoryOne of the most interesting things about A. zonella is that most populations are all female. The females are able to reproduce parthenogenetically or without males! This is an advantage for a caddisfly that lives in artic or alpine environments around the world.Good LinksOn this website:Introduction to the Apataniidae Other Websites: Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Apatania zonella at GBIF Photos, Map, Museum specimens, DNA - Barcodinglife.org Illustration - from the University of Alberta Entomology Collection Has description, habitat information, range and more. Seriochemicals of the genus Apatania http://www.pherobase.com/database/genus/genus-Apatania.php NotesHistorically this genus has been discussed as Radema.ReferencesAl Mousa,MDA 2020 Studies on the Odonata and Trichoptera of high-elevation lakes of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. MS Thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. 187 pages. PDFQuote from page 82: "The Holarctic Apatania zonella (Zetterstedt, 1840) was recorded from Chasm Lake in Larimer County and Summit Lake in Clear Creek County at an elevation of 3,750—3,915m between 1996 and 2015 (Fig. 3.1, Tables 3.1 & 3.3, Appendix 4)." Al Mousa,MDA; Nachappa,P; Ruiter,DE; Givens,DR and Fairchild,MP 2022 Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) of montane and alpine lakes of northern Colorado (USA). Western North American Naturalist, 82(3), pp.563-576. Quote from page 569: "Apataniidae were relatively poorly represented. Of the 32 species of the mountain caddisfly that are known from the continental United States and Canada (Rasmussen and Morse 2021), few species dwell in high-elevation lakes (Wiggins 2014). We recorded only one species of this Holarctic family, Apatania zonella (Zetterstedt, 1840), from one locality in Boulder County and one in Clear Creek County. This taxon was the only species associated solely with alpine lakes (Fig. 2)." Chen,YE 1992 The larva and pupae of Apatania praevolans Morse (Trichoptera: Apataniidae), with a key to described larvae of North American species of Apatania. Aquatic Insects 14 (1) 49-55. Has a key that separates the Apatania species of North America. Also lists the authors, descriptions and diagnoses for the larvae of Apatania of the world that were described as of the time of this study. Corbet,PS 1966 Parthenogenesis in caddisflies (Trichoptera). Canadian Journal of Zoology 44, 981-982. Quote from page 981: "Throughout its range, Apatania zonella (Zetterstedt) (Apataniidae) is represented wholly or predominantly by females (Lack 1933, Lack 1934, Mosely 1928) which average more than 99% in collections, although copulation in nature has been witnessed (Lack, 1933). At Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island, Canada (71;° 18´ W., 81° 49´ N.), where females comprise about 96% of active adults, a nulliparous individual in captivity laid 98 eggs, of which 91 hatched. Her receptaculum seminis was empty. The likelihood that this female had exhausted an endowment of sperm on one egg-batch, which nevertheless showed high viability, is extremely small." Djernæs,M and Sperling,FAH 2012 Exploring a key synapomorphy: correlations between structure and function in the sternum V glands of Trichoptera and Lepidoptera (Insecta). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 106: 561-579. Herrmann,SJ; Ruiter,DE and Unzicker,JD 1986 Distribution and records of Colorado Trichoptera. Southwestern Naturalist 31(4), 421-457. Quote from page 439: "Apatania zonella is rare and only found in the highest of alpine lentic habitats." This is the only species of Apatania listed for Colorado. They have A. zonella in the family Limnephilidae. Lack,D 1933 XXII.—Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera from Bear Island. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 12(68), 205-210. Lepneva, SG 1966 Fauna SSSR, Rucheiniki, vol.2, no.2. Lichinki i kukolki podotryada tsel'nosh-chupikovykh. Zoologicheskii Institut Akademii Nauk SSSR, n.s. 95 [In Russian. Translated into English as: Fauna of the U.S.S.R.; Trichoptera, vol. 2, no. 2. Larvae and Pupae of Integripalpia. Published by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations, 1971.] Describes the larvae of A. zonella among other things. Nimmo,A 1971 The adult Rhyacophilidae and Limnephilidae (Trichoptera) of Alberta and eastern British Columbia and their post glacial origin. Quaestiones Entomologicae 73: 3-234. Ruiter,DE; Kondratieff,BC; Lechleitner,RA and Zuellig,RE 2005 An annotated list of the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, pp.159-187. PDF Abstract: "The caddisflies of Mount Rainier National Park (MRNP), Washington, USA, were surveyed between 1997 and 2004. At least 1,930 specimens from over 250 collections at 163 sites were examined. Based on the current understanding of caddisfly systematics, 108 species were identified. With nine additional species previously reported that we did not confirm, a total of 117 species are now known from MRNP, representing over 50 % of the reported Washington state caddisfly fauna. The collections of the rare brachycentrid, Eobrachycentrus gelidae Wiggins, represent the second and third known records of adults for this species. Six species, Apatania zonella (Zetterstedt), Asynarchus aldinus (Ross), Limnephilus moestus Banks, Polycentropus flavus (Banks), Rhyacophila vobara Milne, and Neophylax occidentis Banks represent new records for the state of Washington. One new species of Polycentropus was discovered. " Schmid,F 1953 Contribution à l'étude de la sous-famille des Apataniinae (Trichoptera, Limnophilidae). I. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 96 (1-2): 109-167. Discusses the taxonomy of adult Apatania in French. Schmid,F 1954 Contribution à l'étude de la sous-famille des Apataniinae (Trichoptera, Limnophilidae). II. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 97 (1-2): 1-74. Wiggins,GB 1996 Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera). 2nd Edition. University of Toronto Press, 457 pages. Zetterstedt,JW 1840 Insecta Lapponica. Lipsiae, Voss. 1140 pages. Described as Phryganea stigmatella zonella  Zuellig,RE; Heinold,BD; Kondratieff,BC and Ruiter,DE 2012 Diversity and Distribution of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Stoneflies (Plecoptera), and Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the South Platte River Basin, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, 1873-2010. U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 606, 257 p. PDF - caution 46MB Quote from page 61: "The few SPRB records available for this species are from high-elevation lakes. Corbet (1966) believed Apatania zonella to be parthenogenic." The elevation range is 12,300-12,650 feet and the adults emerge during July. |