Morphological features of larvae of Drusus osogovicus Kumanski, 1980 (Insecta, Trichoptera) from the Republic of North Macedonia, DNA barcoding of the species and notes on its ecology and distribution

Abstract

The Balkan endemic caddisfly species Drusus osogovicus Kumanski, 1980 that was previously known only from Bulgaria was recently reported from the Republic of North Macedonia as well. However, all data on the presence of the species included only adult specimens as the larval stage remained unknown. In the following study we present the first description of the larval stage of Drusus osogovicus based on morphological characters. In order to prove the conspecificity between the larvae and the adults, DNA barcoding of the specimens was also conducted. Furthermore, lists of the crucial diagnostic characters present only in D. osogovicus larvae as well as information on the distribution and ecological preferences of the species are also provided.