Caddisfly adults only live about a month. The females lay their eggs in the water where the larvae … [+]
Ibrahimiet al. 2021
Entomology has a lasting memory of the Covid-19 pandemic with a recently discovered species of insect in Kosovo. The potamophylax coronavirus is a caddis fly – a moth-like flying insect whose eggs and larvae thrive in rivers and lakes. A team of researchers led by Halil Ibrahimi from the University of Prishtina collected the first known specimens from a stream in Bjeshket e Nemuna National Park in Kosovo a few years ago, but they analyzed and described the new species during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In homage to the challenges of describing a previously unknown species during a pandemic – an effort that involved sequencing the caddis fly’s DNA and comparing it with that of other known species, and describing its physical characteristics and appearance – the team named theirs Discovery P. Coronavirus.
The name is also a subtle reference to what Ibrahimi and colleagues call “another silent pandemic affecting freshwater organisms in Kosovo’s rivers,” where pollution and hydropower have threatened vital aquatic habitats. Caddis flies are particularly sensitive to pollution and their larvae are an important part of the aquatic food chains.
Adult caddis flies mainly eat algae, but some also feed on other insects. Their larvae are an important source of food for fish and other aquatic insects. Adults only live about a month.
It turns out that the Western Balkans, including Kosovo, is a hotspot for freshwater insect biodiversity. Scientists studying the area have found several new species of insects in its rivers and streams in recent years, and most of them, like P. coronavirus, live in their own small areas. This small way of life exposes species like P. coronavirus to a particularly high risk of extinction. Kill all of the caddis flies on a stretch of river near the Lumbardhi Descanit River and you’ve killed an entire species that doesn’t live anywhere else.
Ibrahimi and colleagues have published their research in the Biodiversity Data Journal.
