The Larvae of Chironomidae of the Holarctic Region – Keys and diagnoses

Abstract

The Wiederholm 1983 key to the larvae of the Holarctic Chironomidae was by far the most used book during my PhD and my post-doctoral years. It shaped my understanding of chironomid classification and identification, and provided the basis for most of my work as a chironomid ecologist and palaeoecologist. It is, therefore, with high expectations (will there be new taxa?) and some dread (will I have to rethink my classification?) that I opened the copy of the revised “Chironomidae of the Holarctic region. Key and diagnoses Larvae” that was kindly provided to me by Lennart Cederholm at Scandinavian Entomology Ltd. At first glance, the book, edited by Trond Andersen, Pete Cranston, and John Epler, does not look much different than the original edited by Torgny Wiederholm. It has the same cover, color, and is similarly massive, although the format has changed the book has now become several centimeters broader. My first impression was one of slight disappointment. Many of the figures are obviously identical as in the 1983 version, but not as well reproduced. In many sections the text also remains more or less the same, especially in the larval descriptions for the different genera. The chapters are presented in a similar order, starting with an introduction and a section describing the morphology of the larvae, followed by a key to the different subfamilies. These initial chapters are followed by sections dealing with the different subfamilies: Buchonomyiinae, Podonominae, Tanypodinae, Telmatogetoninae, Diamesinae, Prodiamesinae, Orthocladiinae, and Chironominae. The book also includes a foreword and an index of the discussed Holarctic chironomid taxa.