Potamyia

Banks, 1900

netspinning caddisflies

Species Guides

1

Potamyia is a of netspinning in the Hydropsychidae, containing more than 20 described . Larvae are aquatic and inhabit streams, with five instars characterized by progressive increases in capsule width. They are filter-feeders that consume diatoms, green , filamentous algae, detritus, and fragments. The genus is distributed across Asia, with documented species in Thailand, China, and other regions.

Potamyia flava by Sam Kieschnick. Used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Potamyia: //poʊˈtæ.mi.jə//

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Images

Habitat

Streams, including montane streams. Larvae are aquatic and construct retreats in flowing water.

Distribution

Asia: documented in Thailand (western and southern regions), China, and other Asian localities.

Seasonality

collected in February, May, and December in western Thailand.

Diet

filter-feeders. Gut contents include primarily diatoms and green , followed by filamentous algae, detritus, and fragments.

Life Cycle

Larvae undergo five instars. capsule widths: first instar 0.20–0.29 mm, second instar 0.30–0.39 mm, third instar 0.40–0.59 mm, fourth instar 0.60–0.79 mm, fifth instar 0.80–1.15 mm.

Behavior

Netspinning: larvae construct silk retreats and capture nets in flowing water to filter food particles.

Ecological Role

Aquatic primary consumers and ; contribute to nutrient cycling in stream through filter-feeding activity.

More Details

Molecular identification

Larvae of Potamyia chinensis have been successfully associated with using mitochondrial COI barcodes and nuclear ribosomal 28S D2 genes. These markers were congruent for boundaries across 11 haplogroups, though 28S D2 failed to differentiate some closely related species.

Taxonomic note

Potamyia echigoensis was recently synonymized with P. chinensis.

Tags

Sources and further reading