Larval taxonomy of the Genus Cheumatopsyche (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) in the Carolinas

Larvae of the Genus Cheumatopsyche are well known for their importance in North American lotic systems. However, continued inability to identify larval species has inhibited ecological understanding of these organisms and their comprehensive use in freshwater biomonitoring. In this study, several superspecific morphotypes are defined using setal arrangements from museum specimens previously associated with adults. Further larval collections will be associated with adults via COI barcoding and used to delimit species groups on the basis of new characters not yet revealed. The ultimate goal is to produce a functional key for species level diagnosis of Cheumatopsyche larvae from the southeastern United States.