Larval morphology and phylogenetic position of Drusus balcanicus, D. botosaneanui, D. serbicus and D. tenellus (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae: Drusinae)

Abstract

In a recent 3-gene phylogeny of the Trichoptera subfamily Drusinae Banks, 1916 molecular data clearly correlated with the morphology and feeding ecology of larvae. The largest of three main groups, the Drusinae grazer clade, exhibits an unusual larval feeding ecology for Limnephilidae, and is the most diverse group. In this paper we describe four previously unknown Drusinae larvae from this clade: <i>Drusus balcanicus</i> Kumanski, 1973 (micro-endemic to Eastern Balkans); <i>Drusus botosaneanui</i> Kumanski, 1968 (Dinaric Western Balkans, Hellenic and Eastern Balkan, Asia Minor), <i>Drusus serbicus</i> Marinković-Gospodnetić, 1971a (micro-endemic to Dinaric Western Balkans); and <i>Drusus tenellus</i> (Klapálek, 1898) (Carpathians, Dinaric Eastern Balkans). Characteristically, the larvae of these species develop toothless mandibles typical for the Drusinae grazer clade. Larvae and adults were unambiguously associated by a phylogenetic approach based on two mitochondrial (mtCOI, mtLSU= 16S rDNA) and two nuclear genes (nuWG, nuCAD). In addition, information on the morphology of the larvae is given and the diagnostic features necessary for identification are illustrated.