TERRESTRIAL OVIPOSITION BY TWO SPECIES OF CADDISFLY IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA (TRICHOPTERA: LEPTOCERIDAE)

First records of terrestrial oviposition by Leptoceridae are provided for 2 Australian species: Lectrides varians Mosely (Triplectidinae) and Leptorussa darlingtoni (Banks) (Leptocerinae). Egg masses of both species were deposited above a permanent pool in an intermittent section of Brownhill Creek, a stream near Adelaide, South Australia. L. darlingtoni deposits egg masses communally 15–20 cm above the water, whereas L. varians deposits single egg masses 65–95 cm above the water. Oviposition behaviour is described for L. darlingtoni. The gelatinous egg matrix and hatching of larvae within the matrix of L. varians and L. darlingtoni resemble northern hemisphere Phryganeidae and Limnephilidae. Unlike these families terrestrial oviposition by L. varians and L. darlingtoni is not a response to seasonal absence of water but may be an adaptation to an aquatic environment in which oxygen levels fluctuate unpredictably.