Larvae of cecidomyiid species in Pitilla look very similar when seen by the naked eye. They look like small orange -sometimes red- dots. With augmentation, differences are more evident. Characters to look into to distinguish species are: the presence and shape of spatula, the shape and contractibility of the head, the presence and shape of body setae, structures in the caudal region, among others.
In the 2019 fall, we identified 13 morphospecies, and with molecular data, we confirmed there are at least 14 species. There are potentially more cecidomyiid species at Pitilla, since, for most of the species, we had incidences from a single bromeliad.
We found individuals of this species ranging from 1 to 2 mm.
Habitat: Aquatic – confirm with further observations since it’s rare in literature for cecidomyiids.
Preserved specimens
Live individuals
