aquatic insects

Endangered and exceptional: Discovery of new insect species highlights Kosovo biodiversity hotspot

A remarkable discovery from Kosovo’s Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park underscores the region’s high biodiversity and urgent need for conservation.

A new species of caddisfly, Tinodes lumbardhi, was found in a sidestream of the Lumbardhi i Deçanit River in Kosovo’s Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park. The discovery, made by Professor Halil Ibrahimi of the University of Prishtina and his research team, underscores the region’s high biodiversity and urgent need for conservation.

*Tinodes lumbardhi*, the new species from Lumbardhi i Deçanit River in Kosovo

The aquatic insect is small, with its wings less than 5 mm long. Its name, “lumbardhi,” honors the local Albanian name for the river, meaning “the white river.”

“The discovery of Tinodes lumbardhi is both a celebration of Kosovo’s unique natural heritage and a wake-up call for conservation,” said Professor Halil Ibrahimi. “The survival of these species depends on our ability to protect their fragile habitats.”

The type locality of *Tinodes lumbardhi*, a shelter for several other rare species of caddisflies.

Hosting several rare and endemic species, Bjeshkët e Nemuna, a mountainous region in western Kosovo, is a hotspot for caddisfly diversity. Despite this richness, however, Kosovo’s freshwater ecosystems face escalating threats from human activities. Hydropower development, pollution, and water extraction have severely degraded habitats like the Lumbardhi i Deçanit River, leading in some areas to impoverished insect communities and an alarming absence of fish. Sidestreams like the one where T. lumbardhi was found serve as critical refuges for rare species but remain vulnerable to environmental pressures.

Caddisflies, known for their sensitivity to environmental changes, are key bioindicators of freshwater ecosystem health. These small insects are not only vital for biodiversity but also for maintaining ecological stability in the face of threats such as climate change and habitat destruction.

Heavy environmental pressures endanger the aquatic fauna of Lumbardhi i Deçanit River in Kosovo.

Kosovo’s caddisfly fauna has seen significant advancements in recent years, with contributions from Ibrahimi and his team shedding light on the region’s ecological treasures. Their work has revealed species such as Potamophylax kosovaensis and Potamophylax coronavirus, emphasizing the importance of ongoing research and conservation efforts.

The discovery of Tinodes lumbardhi adds to the growing recognition of Bjeshkët e Nemuna as a biodiversity hotspot of international significance. In their research paper, published in Biodiversity Data Journal, the researchers call for urgent targeted conservation measures to mitigate the impacts of hydropower development and other anthropogenic threats in the region. “Protecting these rare species and their habitats is not only a moral imperative but also a crucial step toward sustaining the ecological integrity of Kosovo’s freshwater systems,” says Halil Ibrahimi in conclusion.

Original source:

Ibrahimi H, Bilalli A, Musliu M, Geci D, Grapci Kotori L (2025) Tinodes lumbardhi sp. nov. (Trichoptera, Psychomyiidae), a new species from the Lumbardhi i Deçanit River in Kosovo. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e143104. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e143104

Photos by Halil Ibrahimi

Two newly recorded species join Thailand’s aquatic insect fauna

In Thailand, more than 1,000 caddisfly species occur, and a recent study shows that their diversity in the country is even greater than previously suggested.

Caddisflies are an order of aquatic insects with high diversity. In Thailand, more than 1,000 caddisfly species are known to occur, and a recent study in the journal Check Listshows that their diversity in the country is even greater than previously suggested.

Scientists Rungnapa Somnark from Khon Kaen University and Narumon Sangpradub from the Center of Biodiversity Excellence, Chulalongkorn University recorded, for the first time, two caddisfly species that were previously not documented as part of Thailand’s fauna. They were able to catch the insects using black-light traps set up along water streams. The field study took place in the summer of 2017 at Thap Lan National Park, which is a part of Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex, a Natural World Heritage site in the north-eastern Thailand.

The two newly-recorded caddisfly species are Diplectrona erinya, a brown insect previously only known from Tam Dao in Vietnam, and Diplectrona extrema, yellowish-brown in colour and distributed in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java.

They both belong to the genus Diplectrona, which now has 10 documented representatives in Thailand.

The researchers suggest they are probably rare in the country.

“Our study suggests that two newly reported species occur at low densities, which highlights the continuing need for efforts to conserve the [Thap Lan National] park and to conduct more studies on the caddisfly fauna,” they say in conclusion.

Research article:

Somnark R, Sangpradub N (2023) New records of the caddisflies Diplectrona erinya Malicky, 2002 and Diplectrona extrema Banks, 1920 (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae) from Thailand. Check List 19(1): 13-20. https://doi.org/10.15560/19.1.13

Journal Alpine Entomology calls for contributions in a new topical collection

“Trends in Arthropods of Alpine Aquatic Ecosystems” is the first topical collection for the journal of the Swiss Entomological Society

The open-access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal Alpine Entomology, published by Pensoft on behalf of the Swiss Entomological Society, announced its very first topical collection of articles, which will be focusing on arthropods associated with aquatic ecosystems in mountainous regions.

The journal is currently inviting scientists, working on aquatic fauna from alpine habitats, to openly publish their research articles and short notices that provide evidence how arthropods’ biogeography, species communities, distribution, behaviour and morphology have changed in recent times.

“Aquatic invertebrates are key indicators of global or local changes. Furthermore, many aquatic ecosystems are closely linked to mountains because they originate in them. Many valuable unpublished datasets on aquatic arthropod fauna may therefore be available from mountainous regions,”
explain the rationale behind the newly opened topical article collection guest editors Dr. Jean-Luc Gattolliat (Museum of Zoology, Lausanne and University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and Dr. David Muranyi (Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Hungary).

The aim of the “Trends in Arthropods of Alpine Aquatic Ecosystems” collection is to bring together data and findings about what many agree is the most impacted type of environment on Earth: aquatic ecosystems, especially running waters.

The collection will remain open for submissions for the next two years. In the meantime, the accepted manuscripts will be published on a rolling basis, as soon as they are ready for publication.

***

Visit the journal’s website at: https://alpineentomology.pensoft.net/
Follow Alpine Entomology on Twitter and Facebook.

Undergraduate student takes to Twitter to expose illegal release of alien fish in Japan

Posing a significant threat to the native biodiversity in Japan, specifically that of threatened aquatic insects, some alien fishes, such as the bluegill, have become the reason for strict prohibitions. All activities potentially capable of introducing the species into the wild are currently punishable by either a fine of up to 3 million yen for a person (100 million yen for corporations), or a prison sentence of up to 3 years.

Recently, ten years after the law has been adopted, illegal release of bluegill fish has been reported for the first time with the help of a post on Twitter from Akinori Teramura, undergraduate student at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and second author of the present study. The case is reported and discussed by him and two scientists, affiliated with Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, Japan, in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

In June 2015, Akinori Teramura tweeted two photographs of the invasive bluegill fish, both adults and juveniles, along with two young goldfish, which do not belong to the local fauna, either. In his post he identified the species and shared his surprise at the irresponsibility of the people who had released the fish. When lead author Dr Yusuke Miyazaki saw the tweet, he signalled his colleagues with the idea to publish the information as a scientific report.

The student found them in an outdoor public pool in Yokohama city, Japan, while it was being cleaned before being opened ahead of the summer. Usually, these facilities are closed to the public during the colder seasons and it is then when native aquatic insect species, such as dragonflies and diving beetles, find spawning and nursery habitats in them. Curiously enough, though, the pool had been isolated from natural waters since its construction.

Therefore, the researchers conclude that the alien fishes have most likely been released from an aquarium from a local shop or an aquarist who no longer wanted them. However, the authors note that according to the law, keeping bluegill fish in a home aquarium is illegal as well.

“Our report demonstrates an example of web data mining in the discipline of Citizen Science,” say the authors. “Web data mining has been rapidly developing over recent years, and its potential continues to expand.”

“Community awareness of this issue needs to be improved, and widespread reporting of cases such as this one will help,” they conclude.

###

Original source:

Miyazaki Y, Teramura A, Senou H (2016) Biodiversity data mining from Argus-eyed citizens: the first illegal introduction record of Lepomis macrochirus macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819 in Japan based on Twitter information. ZooKeys 569: 123-133. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.569.7577