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Hello,

this ~9mm larvae is from last weekend from a forest near the river Ahr (western germany). It feeded the leaves of some small caryophyllaceae, perhaps Myosoton aquaticum.

Can perhaps the family or the genus be identified?

Thanks,
Michael

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I think it is a type of cranefly, no longer Tipulidae, four British species in a family of their own, two terrestrial and two aquatic, one of the aquatics being Triogma trisulca. Is that enough clues? If not, I'll try to come up with a name tomorrow after I've been home (in the public library at the moment).

John Bratton

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Hello John,

thank you for your answer. I don't have any literature here, but I think you spoke of the Cylindrotomidae with the four genera Cylindrotoma, Diogma, Phalacrocera and Triogma. Two of them are aquatic, so two remain for my larva, but I don't know wich.

The larva now lives in a box in my kitchen. Do you know if there is anything special to look for when growing it? Up to this point it readily feeds on the plant I brought with me. Are these species more polyphagous or monophagous?

Greetings,
Michael

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Yes, Cylindrotomidae is the family I couldn't remember. I think yours is Cylindrotoma distinctissima, unless you have more species in Germany. We have only the one species in each genus. Brindle's 1967 key goes:

Dorsal processes toothed on anterior convex side ....
Triogma and Diogma

Dorsal processes not toothed ... Phalacrocera and Cylindrotoma

So they've all got big soft points along their back, but Triogma and Diogma have additional little points along the leading edge of the big points.

It says for C. distinctissima: Larvae free-living on the leaves of Caltha, Viola, Stellaria, Anemone, Petasites and Chrysosplenium, in marshy woodland. Light green, dark dorsally. Posterior spiracles dorsal, no obvious spiracular disc. Length 20 mm. Pupae hang head downward from plants, the cast larval skin retained at base of pupa.

The other terrestrial one, Diogma, is found in mosses in limestone woodland. Anal segment with posterior spiracles inside a cavity.

Best wishes
John Bratton

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Cylindrotomidae is not in the gallery yet

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Hello John,

again thank you for your answer.



According to the Fauna Europaea there are only two species in Europe: distincitissima and nigriventris, and the latter is east-palearctic (Finland, Russia) and absent in middle Europe.



It could have been a Stellaria species, on which I found it. Myosoton is closely related. Now in the box in the kitchen I tried Stellaria media from my garden and the larva eats it.



Ok, the larvae grows and is now more than a centimeter. Color is ok. The thing with the spiracular disks I don't understand.



If I succeed in growing it, I will take photos of the pupa and post it and the adult to the gallery too.

Greetings,
Michael

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Hello again,

I just tried to submit the photo to the gallery, but I can't choose the correct family because it does not yet exist. What do I have to do?

Michael

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There's a new family option. Scroll down to N.

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Thank you, I found it.