Some Quantitative Aspects of the Life History of Aquatic Insects in Temperate Astralian Rivers

Abstract

Little quantitative information on the life history of aquatic insects is available for rivers in southern temperate Australia. Data on the development periods of nymphs or larvae are accumulating for the Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera but little or no work has been undertaken on the other major orders such as the Trichoptera and aquatic Diptera. Studies on other quantitative aspects such as growth rates, egg development times and production have begun but compared with the Northern Hemisphere these topics remain virtually unexamined.