Ingestion of sooty mould fungi by some New Zealand stream insects

Abstract

Ingestion of sooty mould fungi by freshwater stream insects is reported for the first time from New Zealand. Sooty moulds comprised 2-11 % (with one outlier of 65%) and 39-72 % of gut contents in the stoneflies Austroperla cyrene and Zelandobius confusus, respectively, from 2 South Westland streams. The high relative abundance of sooty moulds in the guts of some aquatic insects suggests that they could be an important food resource in streams where riparian vegetation is heavily infested with these fungi.

Keywords>:

• sooty moulds
• Metacapnodiaceae
• Euantennariaceae
• stream insects
• gut contents
• Westland
• New Zealand