Biological diversity of the Minnesota caddisflies (Insecta, Trichoptera)

The caddisfly fauna of Minnesota contains at least 277 species within 21 families and 75 genera. These species are based on examination of 312,884 specimens from 2,166 collections of 937 Minnesota aquatic habitats from 1890 to 2007. Included in these totals is my own quantitative sampling of 4 representative habitat types: small streams, medium rivers, large rivers, and lakes, from each of the 58 major Minnesota watersheds from June through September during 1999-2001. All species are illustrated herein, and their known Minnesota abundances, distributions, adult flight periodicities, and habitat affinities presented. Four species: Lepidostoma griseum (Lepidostomatidae), Psilotreta indecisa (Odontoceridae), and Phryganea sayi and Ptilostomis angustipennis (Phryganeidae) are added to the known fauna. An additional 31 dubious species records are removed for various reasons. Of the 5 determined caddisfly regions of the state, species richness per watershed was highest in the Lake Superior and Northern Regions, intermediate in the Southeastern, and lowest in the Northwestern and Southern. Of the 48 individual collections that yielded >40 species, all but 1 were from the Northern Region. Many species, especially within the families Limnephilidae and Phryganeidae, have appeared to decrease in distribution and abundance during the past 75 years, particularly those once common within the Northwestern and Southern Regions. Many species now appear regionally extirpated, and a few have disappeared from the entire state. The loss of species in the Northwestern and Southern Regions, and probably elsewhere, is almost certainly related to the conversion of many habitats to large-scale agriculture during the mid-20th century.