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Free keywords:
Plecoptera; Biovoltinism; Growth-rate; Emergence-threshold; Thermal demand
Abstract:
Nemurella pictetii Klapalek, 1900 (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) has bi- or trimodal emergence patterns in Central Europe. The emergence threshold temperature is about 8°C. Egg development is direct. The slopes of regressions describing its temperature dependence do not differ significantly between English, Norwegian and German populations, but the intercepts (i.e., the incubation period at 0°C) do. Regular sampling of a benthic population near Schlitz, in Hesse, West Germany, showed that part of the offspring of the first emergence group grew quickly and produced a second emergence peak. The remaining offspring of the first generation grew more slowly and over-wintered, together with the offspring of the second emergence peak. This population exhibits partial bivoltinism. The potential for bivoltinism was also shown in laboratory rearings of a German population at a constant 14°C: many eggs yielded normal adults after about 120 days.