Two new species of Pliocaloca Neboiss (Trichoptera: Calocidae) from eastern Australia, with descriptions of the immature stages of one species

Abstract

The adult males of Pliocaloca kleithria sp.nov. and Pliocaloca fidesria sp.nov. are described. The major diagnostic feature distinguishing these two species is the shape of the slender process arising from the inferior appendage. In P. fidesria this process is abruptly curved outwards at about 1/3rd its length, while in P. kleithria it is gently curved along its length. The presence of a sclerotised knob on the underside of the fore wing, arising from vein Cu1, suggests that these two species are more closely allied with P. dasodes than with other species of Pliocaloca, in which this knob is lacking or arises from a different vein. The immature stages of P. kleithria are described, providing the first association and detailed description of the immature stages of a Pliocaloca species. Larvae are distinguished from other genera of Calocidae by having a covering of small spinules on the dorsum of the head and pronotum. Copyright © 2010 Magnolia Press.