SPECIES FACT SHEET
Common Name: Tombstone Prairie Caddisfly
Scientific Name: Oligophlebodes mostbento
Phylum: Mandibulata
Class: Insecta
Order: Trichoptera
Family: Uenoidae
Technical Description: Based on genitalia. Microscope required. Females and
larvae undescribed. Advice of Trichoptera expert recommended. See Schmid
(1968) for illustrations of male genitalia.
Life History: Larvae in this genus are clingers with special mandibles without
teeth which enable them to scrape diatoms and fine organic particles from
rocks (Wisseman pers. comm.). Larvae of other species in this genus crawl or
are carried by stream current, and to compensate for this downstream
movement, adult females show upstream flight behavior (Applegarth 1995). The
two collections from Oregon both are from June.
Range, Distribution, and Abundance: Collected in Montana, British
Columbia, and two locations in the Oregon Cascade Mountains, including one
at Tombstone Prairie, Linn Co. and one from the H.J. Andrews Experimental
Forest, Lane Co. Documented occurrences come from the Willamette National
Forest.
Habitat Associations: In Oregon they have been taken from small to mid-size
streams. Parsons et al. (1991) note that adults were collected in riparian
vegetation zones. Larvae of the genus occur in cold mountain streams (large
and small) from sea level to alpine communities throughout western North
America. Streams are perennial, cool or cold, free of fine sediment and
filamentous algae, with moderate to strong current and are well-oxygenated
(Wisseman pers. comm.).
Threats: Activities that degrade water quality as well as removal of the
riparian canopy would likely have negative impacts on this species.
Conservation Considerations: None addressed.
Other pertinent information (includes references to Survey Protocols,
etc): Flying adults of this species should be attracted to ultraviolet light from
mid-May to mid-July. If immatures in this genus are collected an effort should
be made to capture adult males that can be identified to the species level. The
presence of these larvae is an indicator of “good” water quality (Wisseman pers.
comm.).
Preparer: Eric Scheuering
Date Completed: December 29, 2005
References:
Applegarth, J. S. 1995. Invertebrates of special status or special concern in the
Eugene district. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.
126 pp.
Parsons, G.L., G. Cassis, A.R. Moldenke, J.D. Lattin, N.H. Anderson, J.C.
Miller, P Hammond and T. D Schowalter. 1991. Invertebrates of the H.J.
Andrews Experimental Forest, Western Cascade Range, Oregon. V: An
annotated list of insects and other arthropods. USDA-USFS Pac. NW Res. Sta.
Tech. Report PNW-GTR 290. 168 pp.
Schmid, F. 1968. Quelques Trichopteres nearctiques nouveaux ou peu connus.
Naturaliste Can. 95: 673-698.
Wisseman, Robert W. Aquatic Biology Associates, Inc. Corvallis, OR.