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A Rhyacophilan Caddisfly - Rhyacophila glaciera
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State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
This Rhyacophilan Caddisfly is currently ranked a "S1" Species of Concern in MT and is at extreme risk of becoming extirpated in the state because of very limited and/or potentially declining population numbers, range and/or habitat. Limited sites with small populations, retreating glaciers and the difficultly of identifying this species without adult specimens all contribute to its state threatened status.
General Description
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Diagnostic Characteristics
Adult morphology: Forewing 8-9.5 mm, transparent yellowish with some cross-veins surrounded with smoky brown, giving them a gray speckled appearance on apical half. Head brown, setal warts lighter. Antennae brown. Legs yellowish brown, tibiae lighter apically (see Denning 1965 for detailed adult description).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
R. glaciera is a regional endemic only known to occur in high alpine snowmelt and spring fed streams along the Rocky Mountain Cordillera in Glacier National Park of Montana, Waterton, Banff and Jasper National Parks of Alberta, and British Columbia (Wiggins 1996, NatureServe 2015). This distribution may be associated with a glacial refugium in the area. In Montana, R. glaciera is unlikely to occur outside of Glacier National Park (Glacier and Flathead Counties) and thus, has little management implications at the Northern Region 1 Forest Service level.Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 20
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Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
R. glaciera is isolated to the northern Rocky Mountains, where it lives in cold alpine streams fed by permanent snowmelt or ice fields. Nimmo (1971) reported this species from small, turbulent creeks to tiny alpine trickles, Along with R. ebria Denning , this species occurs in the highest, coldest streams in Glacier National Park. This species has also been collected with R. glaciera pupating and emerging simultaneously with R. alberta (J. Giersch, personal observation).
Food Habits
Most Rhyacophila species are free-living predators feeding mostly on aquatic insects, especially midges and blackflies.
Reproductive Characteristics
In Montana, adults have been collected from mid-August through early October.
Management
R. glaciera is a regional endemic only known to occur in high alpine snowmelt and spring fed streams along the Rocky Mountain Cordillera in Glacier National Park of Montana, Waterton, and Banff and Jasper National Parks of Alberta and British Columbia. With the increased advancement of global warming, this species could be considered a candidate for the USFWS Threatened and Endangered species list.
Stewardship Responsibility
Threats or Limiting Factors
Specific threats to Montana populations of R. glaciera would include global warming and the melting of glaciers. If the existing glaciers disappear from Glacier National Park, as predicted in 25 years (2030-2040)(D. Fagre personal communnication), this species will likely be extirpated from the state and possibly extinct. In general, cold-stenothermic (cold-water specialists) invertebrate populations are affected by changes to aquatic habitat, such as alteration of flow patterns, streambed substrate, thermal characteristics, and water quality.
References
Literature Cited AboveLegend: verrula and alberta species group of Rhyacophila pictet 1834 with description of a new species (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae). Master's of Science Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. 206 pp.Trichoptera ) of Alberta and eastern British Columbia and their post-glacial origin. Quaestiones Entomologicae 7: 3-234.Trichoptera ). University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario. 2nd Edition. 457 p.
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