Abstract
Invertebrate surveys in Croatia conducted between 2005 and 2018 included 39 sampling sites yielding bycatch samples of Dixidae (Diptera). All records of this family from the territory of Croatia are summarized, including previously unpublished data. Collections contained six species of Dixa Meigen – D. dilatata Strobl, D. maculata Meigen, D. nebulosa Meigen, D. nubilipennis Curtis, D. puberula Loew, and D. submaculata Edwards, with Dixa dilatata reported from Croatia for the first time. Information relating to the ecoregions in which species were found and specific species traits are provided. Compared to neighbouring countries, the Croatian species assemblage is most similar to the fauna of Italy and least similar to that of Serbia and Montenegro.
Highlights
The Dixidae, or meniscus midges, are one of the smallest families of Diptera in Europe, with only two genera, Dixa Meigen and Dixella Dyar and Shannon, and 32 species recorded (Oosterbroek 2007; Pape and Beuk 2012)
Croatia is a relatively small country with a surface area of 56,594 km2 situated at the crossroads of Central and Mediterranean Europe and the Balkan Region
Specimens were collected from lotic freshwater habitats throughout Croatia
Summary
The Dixidae, or meniscus midges, are one of the smallest families of Diptera in Europe, with only two genera, Dixa Meigen and Dixella Dyar and Shannon, and 32 species recorded (Oosterbroek 2007; Pape and Beuk 2012). 190 species are Copyright Marija Ivkovic, Lara Ivankovic. Recognized worldwide (Wagner et al 2008; Pape et al 2011; Moulton 2016, 2017) They are nematocerous flies belonging to the superfamily Culicoidea, which includes the Culicidae, which they most closely resemble (Wiegmann et al 2011; Borkent 2012). Dixid larvae are sometimes a significant component of invertebrate drift in streams (Elliott and Tullett 1977; Sertić Perić et al 2014). Larval mortality increases with decreasing surface tension of water (Fowler et al 1997). Disney (1999) published an exceptionally fine compilation of West Palaearctic Dixidae that can be used worldwide as a basic information resource
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