''Telmatogeton torrenticola'', the Hawaii torrent midge, is a species of seaweed midge endemic to the

Hawaiian islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. Unlike other seaweed midges which are typically found in intertidal environments, the Hawaii torrent midge is native to moderate elevation streams and rivers near fast rapids, where it inhabits wet rock faces.

Description

''T. torrenticola'' is a small gray midge with a body length and wing length both about 5mm. The larvae are much larger, reaching lengths of 18-20mm.

Distribution

''T. torrenticola'' is endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Hawaii,

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, and

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

, where is inhabits montane streams and rivers above 400ft in elevation. It requires rapids for habitat, inhabiting adjacent slick-faced rocks.

Evolution

Despite originating from a parent species that would've inhabited the coastal intertidal zone like most seaweed midges, ''T. torrenticola'' is not found at sea level. This invasion of freshwater waterways from an ancestral coastal ''Telmatogeton'' species appears to have occurred independently at least twice in the Hawaiian islands, with the other lineage being an undescribed species endemic to west

References

Chironomidae Insects described in 1913 Insects of Hawaii Endemic fauna of Hawaii {{Improve categories, date=August 2024