Insecta, Ephemeroptera, Baetidae: Range extensions and new state records from Kansas, U.S.A.

The mayfly (Ephemeroptera) fauna of the U.S.A. state of Kansas is relatively poorly documented (McCafferty 2001). With respect to small minnow mayflies (family Baetidae), only 16 species have been documented with published records from Kansas. Those

misidentified Callibaetis fluctuans from Kansas as Callibaetis montanus Eaton, 1885, and she reported Centroptilum album from Kansas under its junior synonym Centroptilum walshi McDunnough, 1929 (Wiersema andMcCafferty 2004). Peters (1959) reported Callibaetis pictus from Kansas under its junior synonym Callibaetis centralis Peters, 1959 (Jacobus and. Liechti (1978) contributed most of the past records, and recorded the above species of Acerpenna, Fallceon, and Pseudocloeon, as well as true Baetis Leach under the genus name Baetis. Based on the extent of known ranges and number of records within Kansas, Baetis intercalaris and Fallceon quilleri appear to be among the most common baetids in the state, as is a tendency in other central lowland prairie states as well Guenther and McCafferty 2005). Some additionally common species will be evident from the new data we present herein.
Our examination of additional unidentified material of Kansas Baetidae housed in the Snow Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, and collected mainly by the State Biological Survey of Kansas, has led to the discovery of 19 additional species of Baetidae in Kansas, resulting in a new total of 35 species of Baetidae now known from the state. The records given alphabetically below also represent the first Kansas records of the genera Camelobaetidius, Heterocloeon, Plauditus, and Procloeon. Records involve the larval stage of species unless otherwise stated. Pertinent comments on distribution or population variability are given as annotations to the records for some of the species.
A similar variability of having either vestiges of hindwingpads or no hindwingpads occurs in larvae of the more common A. turbida. This variability must be taken into consideration when using the most recent key to North American larvae of Acentrella by Jacobus and McCafferty (2006), wherein couplet 3 emphasizes the hindwingpad condition, and as a result at least some Kansas A. parvula (completely without hindwingpads) do not key out correctly except for the presence of scattered intersegmental banding of the cerci.
Acentrella turbida (McDunnough, 1924 Fritz and Dodds (2004) mentioned this species in the context of an ecological study carried out in Kansas. We provide new records here to confirm its presence in Kansas.
Camelobaetidius mexicanus (Traver & Edmunds, 1968 Comments: This species is also known from Oklahoma and Texas (Reisen 1975;Lugo-Ortiz and McCafferty 1995), but is most common in Mexico (Randolph and McCafferty 2000) and ranges as far north as Idaho and Oregon in the western United States (Lester et al. 2002;Meyer and McCafferty 2007 (Wiersema and Long 2000). We found subtle differences in the characterization of the Kansas populations. These differences include the larval cerci banding being at midlength rather than slightly distad of midlength; minor, expected variation in the dorsal abdominal patterning; variation in the length of the reduced median caudal filament; gills that are slightly asymmetrical in shape, with gray tracheation; and the presence of lateral tracheation on abdominal sterna. The male adult we associate with this possible Kansas variant of the species was generally similar to that described for H. grande, and it was taken at the same locale (Rezeau Ranch, Kiowa County) and in the same month of March as a mature larva. This adult also has lateral tracheation on abdominal sterna, matching that of the larval variants.
Plauditus cestus (Provonsha & McCafferty, 1982). Sheridan County, South Fork Solomon River, 0.48 km northeast of Tasco, 7-V-1975, D. Huggins. Comments: One male larva demonstrates the typically short antennae (subequal to head capsule) and highly attenuate vestigial median caudal filament, but also represents a newly discovered abdominal banding variant not previously discussed by Lugo-Ortiz and McCafferty (1998) or McCafferty and Jacobus (2001). Its abdominal tergum 1 is solidly dark banded whereas tergum 5, which has been most commonly noted as being distinctly banded in P. cestus larvae, is only moderately darker than other abdominal terga (possibly somewhat faded). Femoral patterning is undecipherable (probably due to fading); however, there is apparent in this specimen a prominent anteromedial, somewhat Vshaped marking on abdominal tergum 2 previously thought to be present only in Plauditus gloveri (McCafferty and Waltz 1998;McCafferty and Jacobus 2001). We have also seen a similar marking in some Plauditus punctiventris larvae from Kansas.
Plauditus dubius (Walsh, 1862). Kiowa County, Thompson Creek, 6.44 km northwest of Belvidere, 15-III-1983 (Figure 20, McCafferty et al. 2005). Determination of the larval stage of this species is now problematic because the larval description given under the name P. punctiventris by Ide (1937) was shown definitively by McCafferty and Meyer (2007) to be applicable to Heterocloeon anoka. In addition, what we consider P. punctiventris are sexually dimorphic as larvae, as are P. dubius, Plauditus texanus, and Plauditus virilis, for example, whereas those of H. anoka are not.