SREL Reprint #2266

Insect emergence from a South Carolina (USA) temporary wetland pond, with emphasis on the Chironomidae (Diptera)

Douglas A. Leeper and Barbara E. Taylor

The University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802 USA

Abstract: At Rainbow Bay, a 1.5-ha temporary wetland pond in South Carolina, 115 taxa of aquatic and semi-aquatic insects from 29 families representing 7 orders (Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Trichoptera, Megaloptera, Odonata, Ephemeroptera) were collected using emergence traps from March 1992 through June 1993, a period including 2 hydroperiod cycles. The Chironomidae were the most diverse group (59 species), followed by the Coleoptera (23 species). The Chironomini were the most diverse and abundant chironomids. The chironomid assemblage included many taxa with wide distributions from a variety of southeastern habitats, but several species, including some of the dominant species, are typical of acidic, dystrophic habitats. Several taxa of chironomids collected at the wetland represent new species or generic records for South Carolina or the southeastern USA. Chironomid assemblages at Rainbow Bay and other local depression wetlands were moderately dissimilar, in accordance with reports for other aquatic organisms. Most other insect groups collected at Rainbow Bay are common to other depression wetlands of the region. Cumulative insect emergence was moderate (2774 and 1017 individuals m-2 y-1 in 1992 and 1993), and was dominated by the Chironomidae (93% of the total). Annual variation in emergence was probably most strongly influenced by annual variation in hydrology.

Keywords: Insecta, emergence, Chironomidae, depression wetlands, temporary ponds, Carolina bays, South Carolina

SREL Reprint #2266

Leeper, D.A. and B.E. Taylor. 1998. Insect emergence from a South Carolina (USA) temporary wetland pond, with emphasis on the Chironomidae (Diptera). Journal of the North American Benthological Society 17:54-72.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).