Descriptions of the larvae of four species of Procladius from Great Slave Lake (Chironomidae:Diptera)

Abstract

Descriptions of larvae of Procladius denticulatus, Procladius culiciformis, Procladius freemani, and Procladius bellus collected from Yellowknife Bay (lat., 62°25′; long., 114°20′) are given. Procladius denticulatus was separated from the other species by its large size, a character which always proved distinctive. Procladius culiciformis and P. freemani were separated from one another through several measurements including those of the basal antennal segment and the basal palpal segment. Almost all characters of the head were useful in distinguishing the much smaller P. bellus from the other species.

A combination of molecular and morphological approaches resolves species in the taxonomically difficult genus Procladius Skuse (Diptera: Chironomidae) despite high intra-specific morphological variation

“…Species in this genus inhabit a range of conditions, including highly polluted waters, and have been used to study the sub-lethal effects of pollutants through characterizing larval, antennal and mouthpart deformities (Pettigrove, 1989; Dermott, 1991; Warwick, 1991; Townsend et al ., 2009). Taxonomically, Procladius is a difficult group; it has high levels of intra-specific variability and lacks clear differences between species at some life stages, which has impeded the ability of taxonomists to delineate species within the genus (Moore & Moore, 1978; Cranston, 2000).…”