Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from Kožuf and Baba mountains (Republic of North Macedonia

Abstract

Adult caddisflies were collected during 2018 and 2019 from Kožuf and Baba mountains, located in the southern end of the Republic of North Macedonia. A total of 36 species were recorded, of which 22 and 8 were recorded for the first time for Kožuf and Baba mountains, respectively. Limnephilus flavicornis (Fabricius, 1787) is reported for the first time from the country from Kožuf Mountain. In addition, new localities of several rare and endemic caddisfly species were found. The results of this study highlight Kožuf and Baba mountains as refugium for caddisfly species of conservation importance.

Shar Mountain National Park (R. North Macedonia) - shelter for caddisfly biodiversity in the country

“…Although investigations of Macedonian caddisflies started almost nighty years ago (Radovanović 1935(Radovanović , 1943, only few studies focused on the order Trichoptera over the upcoming years (Botosaneanu 1960;Pavlovski 1984Pavlovski , 1991Arsov 1991;Kumanski 1997;Kumanski & Malicky 1999). Significant progress has been achieved in recent years, particularly as certain areas have undergone more comprehensive investigation (Oláh 2010(Oláh , 2011Oláh et al 2013aOláh et al , 2013bOláh et al , 2015Oláh et al , 2018Oláh et al , 2019Oláh & Kovács 2013Kučinić et al 2016;Vitecek et al 2015aVitecek et al , 2015bVitecek et al , 2015cWaringer et al 2015;Rimcheska et al 2015;Slavevska-Stamenković et al 2016;Bilalli et al 2018Bilalli et al , 2019Slavevska-Stamenković et al 2020, 2021. However, as the majority of these studies (Oláh 2010(Oláh , 2011Oláh et al 2013aOláh et al , 2013bOláh et al , 2015Oláh et al , 2018Oláh et al , 2019Oláh & Kovács 2013Kučinić et al 2016;Vitecek et al 2015aVitecek et al , 2015bVitecek et al , 2015cWaringer et al 2015) were...…”

“…Significant progress has been achieved in recent years, particularly as certain areas have undergone more comprehensive investigation (Oláh 2010(Oláh , 2011Oláh et al 2013aOláh et al , 2013bOláh et al , 2015Oláh et al , 2018Oláh et al , 2019Oláh & Kovács 2013Kučinić et al 2016;Vitecek et al 2015aVitecek et al , 2015bVitecek et al , 2015cWaringer et al 2015;Rimcheska et al 2015;Slavevska-Stamenković et al 2016;Bilalli et al 2018Bilalli et al , 2019Slavevska-Stamenković et al 2020, 2021. However, as the majority of these studies (Oláh 2010(Oláh , 2011Oláh et al 2013aOláh et al , 2013bOláh et al , 2015Oláh et al , 2018Oláh et al , 2019Oláh & Kovács 2013Kučinić et al 2016;Vitecek et al 2015aVitecek et al , 2015bVitecek et al , 2015cWaringer et al 2015) were focused on investigating the diversity of caddisflies in the Balkan Peninsula rather than specifically within the territory of North Macedonia, some authors (Slavevska-Stamenković et al 2021) speculate there are still parts of the country where only scarce data is available.…”