We present here a list of Trichoptera species recorded in the literature from Brazil as of September 2003. The total number of species recorded for Brazil is 378. The most diverse family is Hydropsychidae with 103 species; the second most diverse is Hydroptilidae with 50 species, followed by Leptoceridae and Philopotamidae with 41 each. Distributions by state and additional literature relevant to Brazilian Trichoptera are also presented.

A second assessment of Brazilian Trichoptera species records is presented here. A total of 625 species were recorded for Brazil. This represents an increase of 65.34% new species recorded during the last decade. The Hydropsychidae (124 spp.), followed by the Hydroptilidae (102 spp.) and Polycentropodidae (97 spp.), are the families with the greatest richness recorded for Brazil. The knowledge on Trichoptera biodiversity in Brazil is geographically unequal. The majority of the species is recorded for the southeastern region.

We provide here a list of new species records of Trichoptera (Insecta) collected in Southern and Southeastern Brazil. We report 21 new distribution records for the country of Brazil. We also provide new distribution records for 92 species of Trichoptera for the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná and Santa Catarina.

We collected an undescribed hydropsychid caddisfly, Smicridea (Smicridea) travertinera, n. sp., from 2 sites in Venezuela. One of the sites, Quebrada El Charo, flowed over extensive calcareous formations of travertine, which were covered with retreats and capture nets of the new species. Smicridea travertinera was the most abundant aquatic insect colonizing travertine. We describe the adult male, the retreat and net, and gut contents. The retreat consisted of an aperture in the travertine with a capture net. Retreat-making behavior appears to cause both the biogenesis and erosion of the travertine formations.

The genus Macrostemum Kolenati contains 105 described species, with 15 valid species in the Neotropical region. The adults are recognized principally by wing membranes strongly marked with dark and light colors. The Neotropical species of Macrostemum were described based on the wing colors patterns and body morphology. In this paper we present a taxonomic study of the Neotropical species, descriptions of two new species from Brazil, distributional records and a key to males. The male of Macrostemum negrense Flint 1978 is described for the first time. Names of three Neotropical species, M. ramosum (Navás 1916), M. trigramma (Navás 1916), and M. triste (Navás 1916) are designated nomina dubia.