Date of Award

1979

Degree Name

Biological Sciences

College

College of Science

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Donald C. Tarter

Second Advisor

Dan K. Evans

Third Advisor

Dean Adkins

Abstract

The life histoy and ecology of Ptilostomis postica (Walker) from Greenbottom swamp in Cabell County, West Virginia were investigated from December 1977 to December 1978, Length-frequency histograms indicate the life cycle is uriivoltine. Larvae achieved their greatest growth rate (75%) from fall to winter. Case length showed its greatest increase (70.3%) for this same period. There was high correlation between case length and body length in fall (r=0.72) and winter (r=0.87), however, a low correlation (r=0.18) was found in spring. The diet of the larvae changed from carnivorous in fall and winter to omnivorous in spring. Pupation began at the end of April and lasted approximately three weeks. Adult emergence began on 12 May, peaked on 20 May, and lasted two weeks. Chi-square tests for pupae and adults showed no deviation from a 1:1 sex ratio at the 0.05 level. Adults are nocturnal and live less than one month.

Subject(s)

Caddis-flies - West Virginia.

Greenbottom Swamp|zCabell County (W. Va.)

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