This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. THE ADULT RHYACOPHILIDAE AND LIMNEPHILIDAE (TRICHOPTERA) OF ALBERTA AND EASTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THEIR POST-GLACIAL ORIGIN ANDREW PEEBLES NIMMO Hancock Museum Quaestiones entomologicae New Castle-upon-Tyne, England 7 ; 3-234 1971 Of the Rhyacophilidae 22 species and of the Limnephilidae 91 species are recorded here from the area, making a total of 113 species. Each species is described, and keys are provided for identification of adult specimens to species. Seven species of Limnephilidae are described as new: Imania hector; Apatania alberta; Homophylax baldur; Oligophlebodes zelti; Limnephilus susana; Limnephilus valhalla; and Philocasca thor. The post-glacial origin of this fauna is examined, taking into consideration the possible effects of past and present climatic patterns, extent of glacial ice masses and locations of possible refugia, and locations and drainage patterns of major glacial and post-glacial lakes. Also examined are the 12 range patterns exhibited by the species, and the distributions of each species relative to the other species in its genus or species group. The 12 range patterns form two main groups: one group of six is restricted wholly to the western Cordillera of North America: and the remaining six are more widely distributed, being largely trans­ continental in extent. Altitudinal distributions are also briefly examined. The conclusions reached are that only 5% of the present fauna is derived postglacially from the Beringian refugium, while 95% is derived from North America south of the southern limit of glacial ice. Dividing the 95% portion further, 61% is derived from the western Cordillera of the United States, 8% from eastern North America, 7% from the central Great Plains, 18% from all of North America south of the ice, i.e. from trans­ continental species, and 1% is of uncertain derivation. (Traduction francaise a la page 234). CONTENTS Materials p. 5 Methods p. 11 The Family Rhyacophilidae Stephens p. 16 The Family Limnephilidae Kolenati p. 49 Origins and relationships of the fauna p. 196 References p. 224 Purpose of the study The primary objective of this study is to determine the composition of the fauna of two families of Trichoptera, the Rhyacophilidae and Limnephilidae, in Alberta and eastern British Columbia. Secondly, by an examination of species distributions and relationships it is hoped to elucidate the post-glacial origins of the fauna. While these are the major objectives of the study, there are some subsidiary benefits to be derived from the results. The first is the additional knowledge of North American Tri­ choptera which accrues, as to distributions, correlation of the sexes in species in which the female was previously unknown, and the discovery of new species. A second advantage of such a compilation as this, on a regional fauna, is the facilitation of ecological and other 4 Nimmo studies of the adult Trichoptera of the area. Identifications should be possible without recourse to a scattered and difficult literature. The third benefit is facilitation of studies of the immature stages of the species of the two families in the study area. The immature stages of most species are unknown at present, and it is hoped that the identification facilities supplied in this study will permit the immatures to be correctly correlated and identified. Once this is done ecological studies on the immature stages can be carried out. The taxa studied Originally I had hoped to examine all families of Trichoptera in the study area, but the large number of species, estimated at close to 200, and limitations of time precluded this. Consequently two families were decided upon: the Rhyacophilidae and Limnephili- dae. A minimum of 113 species of these two families is recorded here from the study area. Apart from my intrinsic interest, these two families were selected for the following reasons. The Rhyacophilidae are a distinctly mountain group of Trichoptera and should thus prove useful in tracing faunal changes in the study area. The Limnephilidae occur in both mountains and plains, with distinctive large faunas in each area, and should prove useful in elucidating faunal changes in both areas. The Rhyacophilidae are represented in the study area by 22 species of one genus, Rhya- cophila. These species represent 11 species groups which, in the text, are presented in the sequence of Ross (1956). The Limnephilidae are represented in the study area by 91 species. These variously represent a total of five subfamilies, four tribes, and 26 genera. In this study Schmid's (1955) order of presentation is used. Table 1 presents the names and organisation of the higher taxa of the Limnephilidae of the area. The study area Geographically the investigation embraces the Province of Alberta and the Rocky Moun­ tains of eastern British Columbia. The western limits in British Columbia comprise the line from Kimberly to Golden, thence to Revelstoke, to Avola, and finally to the Mount Robson area. By these limits the northern portion of the Selkirk Mountains is also included. Some information is also included which was derived from a collection from the Simpson Islands of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories. The lake is just over 50 miles north of the northern boundary of Alberta and the area was, until recently, difficult of access. It is felt that any faunal information on Trichoptera from the lake would be applicable to northern Alberta and I took the opportunity in 1964 of arranging with Mr. D. J. Larson, Lethbridge, Alberta, to collect adult Trichoptera for me while in the area. Figure 1 illustrates the positions of the localities from which insects recorded here were taken. Figures la and lb are enlargements of certain portions of Fig. 1 in which too many localities are recorded for inclusion in that figure. In Fig. 1,1a, and lb, many localities are listed as such-and-such a lake or river. This refers to the point at which the nearest road touches on, or crosses these bodies of water. The study is limited to the area outlined above for two main reasons. It is a convenient delimited area located immediately across the mountain and plains routes between Alaska and the remainder of North America, and can be expected to yield evidence of faunal changes or dispersals due to glaciations or climatic changes. Also, embracing as it does both mountain and plains regions (Fig. 2), and ranging from boreal forest in the north, through aspen parkland, to near desert grassland in the south (Fig. 3), the area could be expected to yield a large and most interesting fauna of Trichoptera. Rhyacophilidae and Limnephilidae 5 Table 1. The family Limnephilidae in Alberta and eastern British Columbia. Subfamily Tribe Genus Dicosmoecinae Dicosmoecus Onocosmoecus Imania Amphicosmoecus Ecclisomyia Apataniinae Apataniini Apatania Neophylacinae Oligophlebodes Neothremma Pseudostenophylacinae Homophylax Limnephilinae Limnephilini Limnephilus Grammotaulius Nemotaulius Anabolia Asynarchus Clistoronia Philarctus Arctopora Lenarchus Hesperophylax Stenophylacini Chyranda Pycnopsyche Philocasca Chilostigmini Glyphopsyche Chilostigmodes Psychoglypha Phanocelia MATERIALS Total number of specimens I examined 7,604 specimens of both sexes: 2,915 specimens of Rhyacophilidae; and 4,689 specimens of Limnephilidae. The total number of specimens of each species exam­ ined, by numbers per sex, is given at the end of its description in the text. Sources of material Most of the above material was collected by me during the summers of 1965, 1966, 6 Nimmo 120° ) -\^ Fig. 1. Alberta showing major highways, secondary roads, and collecting points. See also Fig. la and lb. Rhyacophilidae and Limnephilidae 7 North Saskatchewan R j South Ck.i North Ram R.« McLeod R. Snow Ck. Pass Wigmore Pass) Thompson Highway 1a Fig. la. Outline map of the Forestry Trunk Road between Hinton and Nordegg (left), and Noidegg and Cochrane (right). • - collecting points Nimmo Lk. Minnewank,! Fig. lb. Forestry Trunk Road and connecting roads between Waterton and Banff (left); Banff-Jasper Highway between Banff and Jasper (right); • — collecting points. Rhyacophilidae and Limnephilidae 9 Fig. 2. Major physical features of Alberta and eastern British Columbia, showing rivers, lakes, and three levels of altitude. Nimmo Fig. 3. Forest Regions of Alberta and eastern British Columbia (adapted from Rowe, 1959). Rhyacophilidae and Limnephilidae 11 1967, and 1968. Some specimens were obtained from the collections of the Department of Entomology, University of Alberta. A very small proportion was obtained on loan from the following institutions: Canadian National Collection, Ottawa; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Illinois Natural History Survey, Urbana, Illinois, United States; and the United States National Museum, Washington, D. C, United States. The source of the borrowed material is given with species descriptions wherever applicable. Some material was obtained from graduate students in the Department of Zoology, University of Alberta, who obtained it in the course of their own studies, and passed it on to me for identification. The material recorded from Great Slave Lake was the result of a collection made in the summer of 1964 by Mr. D. J. Larson, and passed on to me. A small collection was obtained on loan from the Banff National Park Museum, Banff, Alberta. In the text, locality records have been condensed to map form. Lists of localities and dates are given for new species only. A complete list of all such data is deposited in the Department of Entomology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, and is available to inter­ ested workers. Disposition of material All borrowed material was returned to the lending institutions. Type material. — All type material is deposited in the Canadian National Collection, Ottawa, unless stated otherwise in the descriptions of new species.