El género <i>Leptonema</i> (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) en Costa Rica, con la descripción de una nueva especie

Abstract

The genus Leptonema Guérin 1843 (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae: Macronematinae) is one of the best known and most easily recognized of the Neotropical caddistlies. In lhe New World, the genus is wide\y distributed from southem Nonh America through Central and South America, including the Antílles, but excludíng souther Chile and adjacent Argentina. The adults of Leptonema are large ( 10-40 mm) with líght brown to light green translucent wings. Sorne species have small black or dark spots or pattems on the forewings. Larvae of Leptonema build refuges with small silken nets, and this way feed by filtering fine organic particles from the water. The refuges and nets are built with small gravel, sand, and silk. In 1914, B anks reponed L. albovirens from Costa Rica, the first record of the genus for Costa Rica. In ¡ 987, FIint et al. provided an exhaustíve taxonomic review of the world species, and recognized 15 species groups, five of which were present in Costa Rica. In addition, they described 48 new species, four from Costa Rica, and reponed five additional records. Holzenthal added six additional species records, and Muñoz- Q. described five new species, of these L. tapanti is the first species in the stigmosum Group defined by FIint et al. and present in the country. In total, 24 specíes of Leptonema have been previously recorded in Costa Rica. For this research, collections of Leptonema specimens in the Universíty of Minnesota ¡nsect Collection, Se Paul, MN and the National Museum of Natural History, S mithsonian Institution, Washington, Oc. were examined. In this paper, one addítional undescribed species from Costa Rica is diagnosed, described and illustrated: Leptonema tica. Oiagnoses and illustrations of the male genitalía of the other species are presented. Figures of the larva and adult, as well as aspects of natural history of the genus are included. Finally, an identification key in English and Spanish ís provided, together with distribution record maps of all specíes in Costa Rica are included.