Philanisus plebeius

Philanisus plebeius is a species of marine caddisfly in the family Chathamiidae found in New Zealand and Australia. These insects have winged terrestrial adults, eggs are laid in starfish and aquatic larvae live in marine rock pools.

Philanisus plebeius
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Trichoptera
Family:	Chathamiidae
Genus:	Philanisus
Species:	P. plebeius
Binomial name
Philanisus plebeius Walker, 1852
Synonyms
Anomalostoma alloneura Brauer, 1865

Taxonomy

Described by Walker 1852^[1][2] from a single adult male specimen. 'Plebeius' means common. Brauer described the same species in 1866 and pointed out the unusual maxillary palpi of males where the insertion of the third joint is well before the apex.^[2] F. W. Hutton discovered the larvae live in rock-pools in 1882.^[2]

Biology

There are very few insects that live in the sea^[3] but this caddisfly cannot survive in freshwater.^[4] Philanisus plebeius females lay eggs in starfish.^[5] Eggs are found most of the year in the body cavity (coelom) of cushion star Patiriella regularis (NZ) and P. exigua (Australia).^[6] Larvae live in tide pools and make a case from seaweed (e.g. Corallina, Zostera) and bits of sand or shell.^[7] Larvae go through 7 instars feeding on algae and detritus in tide pools.^[6]

Distribution

Philanisus plebeius is found throughout New Zealand on rocky seashores^[7]

References

1. Walker (1852). Catalogue of the Specimens of Neuropterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum (Part I ed.). pp. 115–116.
2. McLachlan, R (1882). "On a Marine Caddis-fly (Philaniaus, Walker,= Anomalostoma, Brauer) from New Zealand". The Journal of the Linnean Society of London. Zoology. 16 (94): 417–422. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1882.tb02386.x.
3. Shaw, J.; Stobbart, R. H. (1963), Beament, J. W. L.; Treherne, J. E.; Wigglesworth, V. B. (eds.), Osmotic and Ionic Regulation in Insects, Advances in Insect Physiology, vol. 1, Academic Press, pp. 315–399, doi:10.1016/s0065-2806(08)60178-2, ISBN 978-0-12-024201-6, retrieved 2024-09-09
4. Leader, John P. (1972). "Osmoregulation in the Larva of the Marine Caddis Fly, Philanisus Plebeius (Walk.) (Trichoptera)". Journal of Experimental Biology. 57 (3): 821–838. doi:10.1242/jeb.57.3.821. ISSN 0022-0949.
5. Anderson, D. T.; Lawson-Kerr, C. (1977). "The Embryonic Development of the Marine Caddis Fly, Philanisus plebeius Walker (Trichoptera: Chathamidae)". Biological Bulletin. 153 (1): 98–105. doi:10.2307/1540693. ISSN 0006-3185. JSTOR 1540693.
6. Winterbourn, M. J.; Anderson, N. H. (1980). "The life history of Philanisus plebeius Walker (Trichoptera: Chathamiidae), a caddisfly whose eggs were found in a starfish". Ecological Entomology. 5 (3): 293–304. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1980.tb01151.x. ISSN 0307-6946.
7. Cowley, D.R. (1978). "Studies on the larvae of New Zealand Trichoptera". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 5 (4): 639–750. doi:10.1080/03014223.1978.10423816. ISSN 0301-4223.