We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Co-occurrence of the dragonfly biting midge Forcipomyia paludis and the Great fen-sedge Cladium mariscus in Europe.
- Authors
Wasscher, Marcel; Vries, Reinier de; Dijkshoorn, Dominic; Kloen, and Jan-Freerk
- Abstract
The dragonfly biting midge Forcipomyia paludis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) has been found in many parts of Europe and adjacent countries such as Morocco, Turkey and Georgia, but has a remarkably scattered distribution, with at most a few dozen localities in the countries where it occurs. Its presence appears to be strongly concurrent with the presence of the Great fen-sedge Cladium mariscus, a marsh plant with a wide but scattered distribution within Europe. Both species co-occur across the entire known range of F. paludis. However, F. paludis was also found on a few localities where the Great fen-sedge has not been reported. In most cases these localities are within a limited distance of Great fen-sedge localities, or refer to incidental observations in which F. paludis might have been attached to dispersing dragonflies. A probable discrepancy between the two species was found in the southwest of Baden-Wuerttemberg. This overlap in distribution suggests that the presence of F. paludis is linked to that of the Great fen-sedge. It is therefore probable that the larvae of F. paludis develop in Great fen-sedge stands, where a humid litter layer of dead leaves is formed. This habitat presents similar conditions as those preferred by many other Ceratopogonid larvae. However, the concurrence that is described here does not prove a decisive ecological link while we did find a few exceptions. Additionally, first records for Estonia, Denmark, Portugal and Turkey are reported here.
- Subjects
DRAGONFLIES; SPECIES; BIOLOGICAL classification; CERATOPOGONIDAE; DIPTERA
- Publication
Libellula, 2020, Vol 39, Issue 3/4, p1
- ISSN
0723-6514
- Publication type
Article