Tipula (Vestiplex) aldrichiana Alexander 1929

Medeiros, Matthew J. & Schoville, Sean D., 2017, Two New Records of Wing-reduced Tipulidae from North America, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64 (2), pp. 31-35 : 32

I. Tipula (Vestiplex) aldrichiana Alexander 1929 .

Canada: British Colombia, Cassiar, N59.2486, W129.9095 (WGS84). 1 ♀, 8 Aug. 2014, 23:30–02:00 hrs., S.D. Schoville and M.J. Medeiros. Specimen code SDS14–562 ; Genbank accession code KY114055 .

The collection of T. aldrichiana occurred at night, in a rocky habitat near a creek draining snowmelt (air temperature was just above freezing). The specimen ( Fig. 1 ) was found walking slowly on a small snow-patch. Other insects foraging in the same habitat included Grylloblatta campodeiformis nahanni Kamp 1979 , omaline rove beetles ( Staphylinidae ), and Nebria (Boreonebria) spp. ( Carabidae ). Specimen deposited in the California Academy of Sciences (CASENT 8125472).

Tipula (Vestiplex) aldrichiana has flightless and brachypterous females, although the males are fully winged. This species is previously known from Alaska and several areas of Russia, but has not been previously recorded in Canada. The last collection of this species occurred in 1958, in East Beringia, Russia ( Starkevich and Paramonov 2016).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Tipula (Vestiplex) aldrichiana Alexander. A: Dorsal view. B: Left lateral view of head and thorax. C: Dorsal view showing wing morphology. Scale bars = 2 mm.