Free-living Caddisfly Possibly New Record for the State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact:          Sally Petrella (313) 792-9621

                        monitoring@therouge.org

Friends of the Rouge Discovers another Rare Bug in the River

Free-Living Caddisfly (Rhyacophila lobifera) Likely a New Record for the State   

The results from Friends of the Rouge’s Spring Monitoring are now available and the organization reports finding a species of caddisfly that may be a first time record for the state of Michigan.  Friends of the Rouge biologist Bruce McCulloch identified the small aquatic insect collected in early March from a site on the Johnson Creek in Salem Township.  Surprised to learn that the species had not been collected in the state before, Friends of the Rouge asked Professor Mike Wiley (University of Michigan) to confirm the finding.  The species was also found at a site on the Lower branch of the Rouge in Canton.<o:p></o:p>

Caddisflies are unusual insects in that they create cases out of materials like pebbles and sticks to protect themselves during the larval stage where they live in the water prior to hatching into flying insects.  This particular type of caddisfly does not make a case until just before hatching.  Caddisflies are all considered sensitive insects because they require cold, well-oxygenated water to survive and are not found in poor quality rivers.

In addition to the rare caddisfly, results from the Spring Bug Hunt showed an improvement at six of 37 sites.  The highest score for any site in the watershed was found at a new site on a Johnson Creek tributary called Sump Drain.  Most sites on Rouge tributaries were considered “Fair” with only one of 48 sites sampled rating “Poor.”

The complete report is available at therouge.org/687847/index.html and a Google map showing the results is at: therouge.org/687846/index.html.

The Spring Bug Hunt is part of a long-term monitoring program that was created in 1998 to train local residents to collect information about the health of Rouge streams.  It is coordinated by Friends of the Rouge, supported by the Alliance of Rouge Communities and conducted in partnership with Wayne County Department of Public Service Water Quality Management Division. 

For more information visit www.therouge.org.

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