Seasonality of trichomycetes in larval black flies from South Carolina, USA

Trichomycete fungi are common endobionts of aquatic insect larvae, but little is known of their ecology. In this study, the seasonality of trichomycete colonization of larval black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) was investigated in three streams in northwestern South Carolina. At least eight species of trichomycetes were found in two species of black flies, and 93.8% of 1819 larval black flies examined contained trichomycetes. Significant differences were found in the seasonal prevalence of Harpella melusinae, Simuliomyces microsporus, and Paramoebidium spp. at one of three sites. At this site, the lowest mean prevalence for H. melusinae occurred in winter (67%) versus the other seasons (96-100%), whereas mean prevalence was lowest in summer for Simuliomyces microsporus (1%) versus the other seasons (2-21%) and lowest in summer for R spp. (9%) versus the other seasons (45-67%). Significant differences in levels of colonization among seasons were not detected. Conjugations of H. melusinae (representing early stages of sexual reproduction) occurred most frequently in the spring and winter (up to 14% of larvae). Sexual reproduction (represented by zygospores) of Legeriomycetaceae occurred most frequently in the spring and fall (up to 17% of larvae).