Journal article
First record of a skating crane fly: The unusual ecology, behavior, and morphology of Phantolabis lacustris (Alexander, 1938) (Diptera:Limoniidae) with descriptions of the immature stages
Freshwater science, v 39(1), pp 86-100
01 Mar 2020
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
In 2003, large numbers of pupal exuviae and adults of an unusual skating crane fly (Tipuloidea:Limoniidae) were collected from a trout stream in southern Minnesota, USA. The species was identified as Phantolabis lacustris (Alexander, 1938), a crane fly with undescribed immature stages and biology. In this paper, we describe the immature stages and adult female along with the ecology and behavior of this unusual crane fly. Phantolabis lacustris is the first record of a skating crane fly and has a number of morphological characteristics related to this behavior. These characteristics include expansion of the 3(rd) tarsus of the meso- and meta-thoracic legs, subapical insertion of the tarsal claws, and enlargement of the male hypopygium. Supercooling points for this fly ranged from -21.3 to -5.2 degrees C, indicating that it is moderately cold tolerant. The skating behavior and cold tolerance of this crane fly is probably related to its emergence in late winter and early spring. A review of P. lacustris specimens collected as part of biomonitoring or ecological studies or deposited in museum collections indicates that the species has a broad distribution in the upper Midwest and eastern portions of North America. Phantolabis lacustris has probably been overlooked because of its early emergence in March, April, and May and the morphological similarity of its larvae with those of the genus Hesperoconopa. The larvae of P. lacustris cannot be morphologically separated from Hesperoconopa at this time, but their discrete geographic distributions permit the identification of P. lacustris and Hesperoconopa larvae.
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Details
- Title
- First record of a skating crane fly: The unusual ecology, behavior, and morphology of Phantolabis lacustris (Alexander, 1938) (Diptera:Limoniidae) with descriptions of the immature stages
- Creators
- R. William Bouchard - Minnesota Pollut Control Agcy, 520 Lafayette Rd, St Paul, MN 55155 USAJon K. Gelhaus - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Freshwater science, v 39(1), pp 86-100
- Publisher
- Univ Chicago Press
- Number of pages
- 15
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); Entomology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000519541500008
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85076684420
- Other Identifier
- 991019168195004721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Marine & Freshwater Biology