| Trichoptera, or caddisflies, are a major group of aquatic insects and are ubiquitous, abundant and diverse in freshwater ecosystems Adult caddisflies resemble small moths but have exclusively aquatic larvae. There are records of caddisflies for all continents except Antarctica. The genus Macronema is widespread and endemic to the Neotropical region, occurring from southern Mexico to northeast Argentina. A few species occur in the Caribbean, but none are recorded from the Chilean subregion. They are among the large, colorful caddisfly species first described by 19th and 20th century taxonomists. Many of these early descriptions are not sufficient to identify the species or do not have an accompanying illustration of the male genitalia. In this monograph, all available type material was examined, identity of species clarified, and all species were redescribed and illustrated using modern taxonomic methods. The genus is diagnosed in its adult male and larval stages. The described species treated here include, Macronema amazonense Flint 1978, Macronema argentilineatum Ulmer 1905, Macronema bicolor Ulmer 1905, Macronema bifidum Flint 1974, Macronema burmeisteri Banks 1924, Macronema chalybeoides Ulmer 1951, Macronema esterum Flint 1983, Macronema exophthalmum Flint 1978, Macronema fragile Banks 1915, Macronema fraternum Banks 1910, Macronema fulvum Ulmer 1905, Macronema gundlachi Banks 1924, Macronema hageni Banks 1924, Macronema immaculatum Mosely 1934, Macronema lachlani Banks 1924, Macronema lineatum Pictet 1836, Macronema luteipenne Flint and Bueno 1979, Macronema matthewsi Flint 1964, Macronema muelleri Banks 1924, Macronema paliferum Flint 1974, Macronema partitum Navas 1932, Macronema parvum Ulmer 1905, Macronema pennyi Flint 1978, Macronema percitans Walker 1860, Macronema pertyi Banks 1924, Macronema picteli Banks, 1915, Macronema reinburgi Navas 1933, Macronema rubiginosum Guerin 1843, Macronema studiosorum Botosaneanu 1999, Macronema tremenda Botosaneanu 1980, and Macronema variipenne Flint and Bueno 1979. Macronema agnathum Mueller 1921 is resurrected from synonymy with Macronema bicolor. Nineteen new species are described and illustrated. A key to adult males of Macronema is also provided. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Macronema was performed using morphological characters and maximum parsimony. The strict consensus of 23 trees obtained corroborates the monophyly of the genus Macronema and supports the monophyly of several species group clades within the genus. |
