trichopteraireland

Oecetis ochracea (Curtis, 1825)

Oecetis ochracea is one of 24 members of the Family Leptoceridae found in Ireland, and one of five member of the genus Oecetis. It is a species whose larvae can be found in ponds, lakes, and canals, on a substratum of muddy sand, living plant material and woody debris, occurring in standing water. Oecetis ochracea has a smooth, curved, fragile case made of sand grains and/or other small particles. The species has no preference in relation to the pH of the water and can be found in brackish water.

In temperate areas, Oecetis ochracea has a univoltine (one generation per year) reproductive cycle, and lives for up to one year. In terms of feeding ecology, the larvae are predators.

Defining features of the larvae of Oecetis ochracea include antennae at least six times longer than wide, a mesonotum without dark, curved posterior-lateral projections, mandibles at least three times as long as wide, with a single cutting edge, labrum with numerous setae on the dorsal surface, mesoventer with 1-4 setae on each side, metaventer with 17-60 setae, protrochantin with one long, dark seta and the 9^th abdominal segment with more than 12 setae on the dorsal surface.

The adults of Oecetis ochracea can be found on the wing in May to September.

For details of records of Oecetis ochracea, visit the National Biodiversity Data Centre page here.

References

Barnard, P. and Ross, E. (2012) The Adult Trichoptera (Caddisflies) of Britain and Ireland. RES Handbook Volume 1, Part 17.

Graf, W., Murphy, J., Dahl, J., Zamora-Muñoz, C. and López-Rodríguez, M.J. (2008) Distribution and Ecological Preferences of European Freshwater Species. Volume 1: Trichoptera. Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber & Daniel Hering (eds). Pensoft, Sofia-Moscow.

O’Connor, J.P. (2015) A Catalogue and Atlas of the Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland. Occasional Publication of the Irish Biogeographical Society, No. 11.

Wallace, I.D., Wallace, B. and Philipson, G.N. (2003) Keys to the Case-bearing Caddis Larvae of Britain and Ireland. Scientific Publication of the Freshwater Biological Association No. 61.

Last updated: 09/04/2018