Tanytarsus bromelicola ( Cranston, 2007 )

Rogers, D. Christopher & Cruz-Rivera, Edwin, 2021, A preliminary survey of the inland aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Journal of Natural History 55 (13 - 14), pp. 799-850 : 835-836

Tanytarsus bromelicola ( Cranston, 2007)

This chironomid is a predator and was found in ornamental bromeliad phytotelmata in

Mahogany Run on St. Thomas. This is the only species in the genus known from bromeliads, and is reported from Puerto Rico and Florida ( Cranston 2007). Miller (1971) identified a chironomid from St. John bromeliads as possibly T. confusus . However, Cranston (2007) argues the identification was likely mistaken and those specimens were T. bromelicola . As such, this is the first confirmed record of this species from the Virgin Islands.

Odontomyia / Hedriodiscus ?

Little is known about the Stratiomyidae of the Caribbean. Curran (1928) described Nemotelus thomae from saline pools on St. Thomas. We collected early instar stratiomyid larvae from freshwater in Bolongo pond, from dense marginal vegetation.

Cecidomyidae

Unidentified larvae of this family were found on St. Thomas at the University of the Virgin Islands in moss clumps in a concrete drainage behind the Classroom Administration Building.

Ephydridae

Unidentified larvae from the subfamily Ephydrinae were found in bromeliads from the Yacht Haven Grande Marina. Species in this family known from the US Virgin Islands, include Paralimna decipiens Loew, 1878 , P. obscura Williston, 1896 , Discocerina flavipes Cresson, 1941 , Discocerina obscurella (Fallén, 1813) , Cressonomyia aciculata (Loew, 1862) , Discomyza dubia Williston, 1896 , Discomyza maculipennis (Wiedemann, 1824) , Parydra humilis (Williston, 1987) and an unidentified species of Ochthera ( Curran 1928; Barber 1939; Mathis 1997; Ale-Rocha and Mathis 2015; Mathis et al. 2016). Paralimna thomae ( Wiedemann, 1830) was originally described from St. Thomas (as Ephydra thomae ) and is the most widespread member of the genus in the Americas ( Ale-Rocha and Mathis 2015). Several other Ephydridae are known from Puerto Rico and could also occur in the USVI ( Curran 1928; Barber 1939; Mathis and Zatwarnicki 2012; Ale-Rocha and Mathis 2015; Mathis et al. 2016).

Syrphidae

Unidentified larvae were found on St. Thomas in brackish pools with decomposing vegetation in the mangroves at Magens Beach and Red Hook. A freshwater form very similar to Erstalis sp. was encountered in the dense, rotting vegetation of an embayment part of a small ghut at Raphune Hill (which also had evidence of septic contamination). Curran (1928) reported two species of Erstalis from St. Thomas. Other syrphid larvae were found in Heliconia caribaea and Billbergia pyramidalis phytotelmata at the Etelman Observatory.

Curran (1928) reported several syrphid species from Puerto Rico and the USVI, including Palpada albifrons Wiedemann, 1830 and Meromacrus laconicus (Walker, 1852) (a tree hole species) from St. Thomas ( Van Doesburg 1970; Thompson 1981).