Poster Details
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF NEOPHYLAX RICKERI CASES AND LARVAE
Trichoptera contain a variety of case-building insects whose larvae exist in ecosystems which have different materials and water conditions that impact case development. We studied Neophylax rickeri to determine the spatial measurements of the case and larval dimensions (length, width, and average large rock size). We measured bodies and cases using an ocular micrometer or digitally on scanned images of caddisflies using ImageJ. We plotted the relationship between case length and body length and grouped them into instars. A comparison between case length and average rock length revealed that the largest cases included the largest ballast stones on the case, widest at the anterior. The linear correlation between the case widths of the middle region and the average width of the caddisfly was observed. Another way that we characterized the cases was by measuring the ballast stones (weight and shape) from cases of the same stream but different months. This exploratory study of Neophylax cases offered an investigative take on larvae and case relationships while we also conducted analytical studies of cases themselves with no associated larvae.
Jessica Garcia (Primary Presenter/Author), UC Berkeley, jgarciareyes@berkeley.edu;