chirononews

Sæther, O.A. 2005. A new subgenus and new species of Orthocladius van der Wulp, with a phylogenetic evaluation of the validity of the subgenera of the genus (Diptera: Chironomidae). Zootaxa 974: 1-56.

A new subgenus, Orthocladius (Mesorthocladius) is established, with O. frigidus Kieffer as the type species. Four other species are included: O. (M.) rousellae Soponis, O. (M.) vaillanti Langton & Cranston, and two new species, O. (M.) lamellatus Sæther and O. (M.) nimidens Sæther. This last species (O. nimidens) is the taxon keyed in Epler 2001 as "Orthocladius sp. "Jacobsen" (p. 7.99)
1-vi-2005

Spies, M. & O.A. Sæther 2004. Notes and recommendations on taxonomy and nomenclature of Chironomidae (Diptera).
Zootaxa 752: 1-90.

The authors have arranged for the PDF to be freely downloadable from
http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2004f/zt00752.pdf

One of the main purposes of this paper is to formalize and/or explain
scientific names of Chironomidae that were used in the Fauna Europaea
database, see below. Another is to draw attention to the most common
causes for errors in chironomid nomenclature, and to offer
constructive suggestions on how to avoid similar problems in the future.

Fauna Europaea database
(Chironomidae by O.A. Sæther & M. Spies 2004)
Freely accessible at http://www.faunaeur.org/

Associated CD-ROM and paper publications have been announced, but have
not appeared yet.

Please note that the website still is under construction, and - due to
circumstances beyond our control - not all data are being presented
properly yet. However, we hope that these problems will be solved soon.

If you find any errors to chironomid data or their presentation in
either of the above sources, please help us improve them by letting us
know.

Best regards,

Martin Spies and Ole A. Sæther
3-xii-2004

ERRATA for: Maschwitz, David E. and Edwin F. Cook. 2000. Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Genus Polypedilum Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the Subgenera P. (Polypedilum) Kieffer and P. (Urespedilum) Oyewo and Sæther. Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin (New Series) Volume 12 Number 3. vii + 135 p.

At the recent (12-14 August 2003) XV International Symposium on Chironomidae held in Minneapolis, MN, Dr. David Maschwitz made the following errata available for his 2000 work on Polypedilum. He has kindly given me permission to reproduce his handout here:

p. 23 - paragraph 1, line 6: (Figures 21-24) should read (Figures 18-21)
p. 25 - couplet 5': Figures 110 and 111 should read Figure 109
p. 26 - couplet 13: Figure 21 should read Figure 18
couplet 17: Figure 19 should read Figure 23
couplet 17': Figure 20 should read Figure 22
p. 27 - couplet 20: Figure 23 should read Figure 20
couplet 20': Figure 24 should read Figure 21
couplet 22: Foretibia should read forefemur
couplet 22': Foretibia should read forefemur
couplet 23': Foretibia should read forefemur
p. 109 - Adult male diagnosis "apical one-half of foretibia" should read "apical one-half of forefemur"

Ekrem, T., M.F. Sublette & J.E. Sublette. 2003. North American Tanytarsus I. Descriptions and keys to species in the eminulus, gregarius, lugens and mendax species groups (Diptera: Chironomidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 96: 265-328.

This excellent paper describes 17 new species, many of which are found in the SE US. For many species, all life stages are described; keys are included for all known life stages. These new species have been incorporated into the check lists for Florida and North & South Carolina that are found on my web site; see the corrections and additions for the SE manual for more information.

Epler, J.H. 2001. Identification Manual for the Larval Chironomidae (Diptera) of North and South Carolina. A guide to the taxonomy of the midges of the southeastern United States, including Florida. Special Publication SJ2001-SP13. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Raleigh, NC, and St. Johns River Water Management District, Palatka, FL. 526 pp.

YES, after 4 years of work, it's finally done! The above manual, WHICH COVERS THE ENTIRE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES (and will work for much of the eastern US), is now available as a download or as a bound copy.

The manual is available for downloading as a series of PDF files (you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or later to correctly view and print these files).

Through the combined efforts of Dr. Marc Minno with the St. Johns River Water Management District, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Florida Association of Benthologists and the nice people at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, printed copies of the new larval midge manual are available. To obtain a spiral bound copy, you must follow the directions below exactly! Otherwise, swarms of large, hairy, blood-sucking midges will enter your bedroom at night and carry you away!!

Send a LARGE (it must be at least 12" X 15.5" (30.5 cm X 39.3 cm)), SELF-ADDRESSED, STAMPED (with US $ 5.20 in postage) envelope, along with a short letter stating which manual you want, to:

Please include your email address or telephone number in case there are problems with your order.

Smaller envelopes CAN NOT be used and will be returned to the sender! Also, this price is only for the Continental US. Prices to Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and the Caribbean will differ! The manual weighs about 2 lb 14 oz, is approximately 1.25 inches thick and is about 9 inches wide, 11 inches long.

If you use heavy padded envelopes you MUST add an additional $1.25 in postage (for a total of $6.45) or the package will be returned to YOU for insufficient postage.

Please DO NOT use official US stamps (government stamps) on the S.A.S.E. The Post Office will not accept a non-government person mailing an envelope with US government stamps without showing a permit for their use. Use only regular postage stamps or metered postage if available. Consult your local Post Office if in doubt.

1) a large envelope, at least 12" X 15.5" (30.5 cm X 39.3 cm)
2) your address must be on the envelope!
3) $5.20 postage must be on the envelope
4) a short note stating which manual you wish to order
5) your email address or phone number in case there is a problem with your order

Note that if you want more than one manual, you must send a separate, self-addressed stamped envelope for each manual.

The proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Chironomidae are now available:

Odwin Hoffrichter (ed.) 2000: Late 20th Century Research on Chironomidae: An Anthology from the 13th International Symposium on Chironomidae, Freiburg, 5-9 September 1997. Shaker Verlag, Aachen. ISBN 3-8265-7431-1 661 pp.

The book may be ordered from the publisher, list price DEM 79.00 plus postage, etc., or from the editor at US$40.00 (cash or check, all included).

The home page of the publisher (http://www.shaker.de/) provides an online catalogue, including an option allowing you to download a free, non-printable pdf file of the table of
contents. With a payment of DEM 7.90, the complete text may also be obtained as a non-printable pdf file.

Odwin Hoffrichter
Institut für Biologie I (Zoologie)
Hauptstr. 1
D-79104 Freiburg
Germany

THIS IS A WONDERFUL DEAL FOR THIS BOOK!!!!
North American taxonomists/workers will want this book because of the following papers:

Bjørlo, A., H. Värdal & O.A Sæther. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the subgenus Tripodura Townes of the genus Polypedilum Kieffer.

Caldwell, B.A. A new species of Omisus Townes (Diptera) from Georgia and the Southeast USA.

Hestenes, T.C & O.A. Sæther. Three new Nearctic Thienemanniella Kieffer species with a review of the Nearctic species.

Kyerematen, R.A.K., O.A. Sæther & T. Andersen. A review of the Rheotanytarsus pellucidus group.

Makarchenko, E.A. & M.A. Makarchenko. Revision of Pagastia Oliver, 1959 (Diptera, Chironomidae) of the Holarctic region.

These are just some of the taxonomic papers applicable to North American workers. There are also taxonomic papers on South American, Chinese, African and Eurasian taxa!
There are also papers covering morphology, distribution, ecology, life history and chromosomal work!
7-xii-2000

The special commemorative volume honoring Frieder Reiss has been published on 1 July 2000 as SPIXIANA 23, issue 2.

To all colleagues involved in various parts of this production: thank you very much again! You have made this a great tribute to the man we have had to say farewell to.

The volume's contents are almost exclusively scientific rather than personal, but we believe Dr. Reiss would have preferred it this way. He would have enjoyed applying the papers in
practical work, and so, we hope, will the readers.

Although the authors had to add this to all their other work under tight time constraints, the editors received more contributions than could be fit within a regular SPIXIANA, even
though the issue was enlarged from the normal 96 to 128 pages. Some papers thus had to be delayed until the next issue to be published in November 2000.

Here is an excerpt from the table of contents, giving authors' names and abbreviated titles of the scientific papers:

Baehr, M. & M. Spies (eds) 2000: Contributions to chironomid research in memory of Dr. Friedrich Reiss. – SPIXIANA 23(2)

Cranston, P. S.
                                         Austrobrillia Freeman: immature stages, and new species from the Neotropics
Ashe, P.
                                        Reissmesa, nom. nov., a replacement name for Reissia Brundin
Makarchenko, E. A.
                                         Cricotopus (Cricotopus) reissi, spec. nov. from Chukchi Peninsula, northeastern Russia
Oliveira, S. J. de
                                         A new, non-marine species of the genus Thalassomya Schiner, 1856
Orendt, C.
                                         Chironomids of small Alpine water bodies (springs, spring brooks, pools, small lakes) of the northern Calcareous Alps
Jacobsen, R. E. & S. A. Perry
                                         A review of Beardius Reiss & Sublette, with description of a new species from Everglades National Park, Florida
Sublette, J. E. & M. S. Mulla
                                         Chironomus strenzkei Fittkau, a new Pan-American distribution, with a review of recent similar additions to the Nearctic midges
Wülker, W. F. & J. Martin
                                         Northernmost Chironomus karyotypes
Biró, K.
                                         Chironomidae from Hungary 2. New records of Lipiniella moderata Kalugina, 1970
Messias, M. C.
                                         Oukuriella reissi, a new species of the genus Oukuriella Epler, 1986
Caldwell, B. A.
                                         First Nearctic record of Neostempellina Reiss, with description of a new species
Trivinho-Strixino, S. & G. Strixino
                                         A new species of Caladomyia Säwedal, 1981, with description of the female and immature stages
Reiff, N.
                                         Review of the mainly Neotropical genus Caladomyia Säwedal, 1981, with descriptions of seven new species
Langton. P. H. & X.-F. Garcia
                                         A review of Cladotanytarsus conversus (Johannsen) with first records from Europe
Sanseverino, A. M. & S. Wiedenbrug
                                         Description of the pupa of Tanytarsus cuieirensis Fittkau & Reiss
Butler, M. G.
                                         Tanytarsus aquavolans, spec. nov. and Tanytarsus nearcticus, spec. nov., two surface-swarming midges from arctic tundra ponds
Stur, E. & T. Ekrem
                                         Tanytarsus usambarae, spec. nov. from West Usambara Mts., Tanzania, East Africa

Ashe, P., J. P. O'Connor
& D. A. Murray
                                         Larvae of Eurycnemus crassipes (Panzer) (Diptera, Chironomidae) ectoparasitic on prepupae/pupae of Hydropsyche siltalai Döhler (Trichoptera,
                                         Hydropsychidae), with a summary of known chironomid/trichopteran associations
Kyerematen, R. A. K., T. Andersen
& O. A. Sæther
                                         A review of Oriental Rheotanytarsus Thienemann & Bause, with descriptions of some new species
Paggi, A. C. & D. Añon Suarez
                                         A new species of Ablabesmyia from Rio Negro province, Argentina, with descriptions of the adult female and preimaginal stages
Papusheva, E., V. Proviz, A. Blinov
& B. Goddeeris
                                         Phylogeny of the endemic Baikalian Sergentia

If you are interested in ordering, please note that approximately 50% of issue 3 will consist of papers not involving chironomids.

The two issues are available only from the publishers of SPIXIANA (they are doing all of us a favor by handling distribution!):
Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Wolfratshauser Str. 27, D-81379 München, Germany
E-mail:100417.1722@compuserve.com
Fax: +49 89 - 72 42 772
Tel.: +49 89 - 74 28 270

The price for issues 2+3 together is Euro/US$ 40 plus postage, issue 2 alone is Euro/US$ 30 plus postage, issue 3 alone is Euro/US$ 20 plus postage. These prices are based on the
approximate equivalence of Euro and US$ as of June 2000. Should the exchange rate significantly differ by the time of your payment, the publisher reserves the right to modify prices
accordingly. Postage overseas is not cheap, collective rather than individual orders could significantly reduce cost as well as the work load at SPIXIANA. Credit card payment is possible.
Please, contact Dr. Pfeil for all further details.

Maschwitz, David E. and Edwin F. Cook. 2000. Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Genus Polypedilum Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the
Subgenera P. (Polypedilum) Kieffer and P. (Urespedilum) Oyewo and Saether. Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin (New Series) Volume 12 Number 3. vii + 135 p.

Order from: Ohio Biological Survey
1315 Kinnear Road
Columbus, OH 43212-1157 USA
Phone: (614) 292-9645 FAX (614) 688-4322

Using: Personal check drawn on a U.S. Bank or in U.S.$$; MasterCard or
VISA;
Purchase order from an accredited institution or corporation.

Shipping: Within the US, shipping and handling
is 10% of the order, with a minimum of $1.50; and for Canada and Mexico,
11%, with a minimum of $1.50; 15% of order for
Europe and South America; 16% of order for Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific.
13 July 2000

As I mentioned to participants in my larval Chironomidae workshop on 28 May at NABS Keystone/2000, the 1983 larval volume of the well known Holarctic Keys edited by Wiederholm is out of print and no longer available. However, a new key published in Hungary by Science Herald is just out:

   Sæther, O. A., Ashe, P. & Murray, D. E. 2000. Family Chironomidae. Pp. 113-334 in: Papp,
   L. and Darvas, B. (eds): Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special
   reference to the flies of economic importance). Vol. 1. Appendix A.6.- Science Herald,
   Budapest.

   Volumes 2 and 3 appeared previously. Volume 1 with the appendix volume is obtainable
   from E. W. Classey Ltd., Oxford House, Marlborough Street, Farringdon, Oxfordshire SW7
   /JP, UK. The e-mail is Peter@Classey.demon.co.uk The price of Vol. 1 is GBP 140, the
   appendix volume can be bought separately and should be somewhat cheaper. The key
   mostly follows Wiederholm (ed.) 1983, 1986, 1989, but especially the pupal keys to the
   orthoclads is improved. The keys also lists the names of species and their geographical
   distributions in revised genera with less than about 30 species. New or revised genera and
   subgenera appearing since the last volume of the Holarctic key are incorporated. There are
   several new synonyms and combinations. Japanese species are included as far as possible
   without revision of all species. The reference list is updated as far as possible, but some
   recent publications appearing after the first submission of the manuscript may be missing.
   The keys should be useful also for chironomid workers from North America as there are very
   few genera which are exclusively Nearctic.

There are no diagnoses, so you'll still want to obtain all 3 volumes of the Ent. Scand Holarctic Keys (Wiederholm 1983, 1986, 1989).

There are several Nearctic genera that are not in either the adult, pupal or larval Palaearctic Diptera keys:

Tanypodinae: Bethbilbeckia, Brundiniella, Cantopelopia, Coelotanypus, Denopelopia, Fittkauimyia, Helopelopia, Hudsonimyia, Meropelopia, Pentaneura, Radotanypus, Reomyia.

Orthocladiinae: Eretmoptera, Lipurometriocnemus, Lopescladius, Oreadomyia, Platysmittia, Saetheriella, Sublettiella, Tempisquitoneura,Tethymyia, Trichochilus, Unniella.

Chironominae: Apedilum, Beardius, Endotribelos, Fissimentum, Hyporhygma, Manoa, Skutzia, Stelechomyia, Xestochironomus.
30-viii-2000; emended 3-xii-2004