<span lang="RU">First record of Rhyacophila pubescens </span><span>Pictet, 1834</span><span lang="RU"> (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae) in </span><span lang="TR">the </span><span lang="RU">Republic of </span><span>North </span><span lang="RU">Macedonia</span><span> with notes on its ecology and distribution</span>

Abstract

The caddisfly species Rhyacophila pubescens Pictet, 1834 is reported from R. North Macedonia for the first time. Our investigations showed the presence of this species at only one locality at Osogovo Mountain, above the Sasa mine. R. pubescens is commonly distributed in Central Europe but has been rarely found in the southeastern parts of the continent. This record marks the southernmost occurrence of this species in the Balkan Peninsula and increases the number of Rhyacophila species of R. North Macedonia to seventeen. The results obtained in our study a) provide information on the distribution of R. pubescens in the Balkan Peninsula; b) comment on the ecological preferences of the species and c) serve as a valuable source of information for further biodiversity and population studies.

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...…”