A SURVEY OF NEOTROPICAL CHIRONOMIDAE (DIPTERA) ON SAN SALVADOR ISLAND, BAHAMAS

Chironomidae (Diptera) are among the most diverse and widespread aquatic insects, with approximately 5,500 species described. However, prior to the present work, only 4 species of Chironomidae were reported from the Bahamas. The goal of our study was to provide basic species data on the Chironomidae of San Salvador Island. In March of 2012, a variety of aquatic habitats representing fresh to saline waters were sampled for chironomid larvae and pupal exuviae. Twelve species were found: Chironomus Meigen (3 morphospecies), Dicrotendipes sp. A sensu Epler, Polypedilum (Tripodura) scalaenum group (1 morphospecies), Goeldichironomus fluctuans Reiss, Tanytarsus mendax Kieffer, Tanytarsus cf. confusus Malloch, Ablabesmyia (Sartaia) metica Roback, Labrundinia maculata Roback, Paramerina anomala Beck & Beck, and Djalmabatista pulchra (Johannsen). All of these are new records for the Bahamas, with Tanytarsus mendax and Paramerina anomala new for the Neotropical region.