engleski

A decade of aquatic Diptera emergence studies, with emphasis on the Empididae

True flies (Diptera, Insecta) are one of the most important groups of aquatic insects in respect of the number of families and abundance of individuals. The study was carried out in Plitvice Lakes at tufa barrier Kozjak- Milanovac. Several microhabitats were selected. Sampling was conducted at the end of every month, from 2007 until 2016, 10 full years, with six emergence traps placed at the site. In all, 14 families of aquatic Diptera were recorded with Simuliidae and Chironomidae as the most abundant families. The third most abundant family were aquatic dance flies (Empididae: Clinocerinae and Hemerodromiinae). The goals of this study were to analyse their preference for microhabitats, prey abundance and emergence of species. In total seven species were identified. The dominant genera were Chelifera and Hemerodromia, both represented with three species, while the most abundant species was Hemerodromia unilineata Zetterstedt. The sex ration in H. unilineata was in most years 50:50. All the species were univoltine, except Chelifera conncinicauda, which was bivoltine. The highest abundance of aquatic dance flies was recorded on moss and pebbles, while they did not prefer sand/silt substrate. The highest emergence rates were recorded above microhabitats with highest prey densities (Chironomidae and Simuliidae) and with highest current velocity. Water temperature and photoperiod are the main ecological factors determining the start of emergence and duration of flight period.

Hemerodromiinae, water temperature, tufa barriers, microhabitats, sex ratio

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