TERRESTRIAL OVIPOSITION BY TWO SPECIES OF CADDISFLY IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA (TRICHOPTERA: LEPTOCERIDAE)

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Abstract
First records of terrestrial oviposition by Leptoceridae are provided for 2 Australian species:Lectrides variansMosely (Triplectidinae) andLeptorussa darlingtoni(Banks) (Leptocerinae). Egg masses of both species were deposited above a permanent pool in an intermittent section of Brownhill Creek, a stream near Adelaide, South Australia.L. darlingtonideposits egg masses communally 15–20 cm above the water, whereasL. variansdeposits single egg masses 65–95 cm above the water. Oviposition behaviour is described forL. darlingtoni.The gelatinous egg matrix and hatching of larvae within the matrix ofL. variansandL. darlingtoniresemble northern hemisphere Phryganeidae and Limnephilidae. Unlike these families terrestrial oviposition byL. variansandL. darlingtoniis not a response to seasonal absence of water but may be an adaptation to an aquatic environment in which oxygen levels fluctuate unpredictably.