A fauna de Trichoptera Kirby, 1813 (Insecta) no Parque Estadual do Lajeado, Tocantins, Brasil

Abstract

The order Trichoptera comprises over 17,200 species distributed worldwide, with 877 of them occurring in Brazil. In recent years, studies on Trichoptera have increased in the country, but knowledge about the order still varies among Brazilian regions. This is considering that the majority of these studies are concentrated in areas with established research groups, such as the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest. The Lajeado State Park (PEL) is a fully protected conservation unit located in the Cerrado region of the state of Tocantins, one of the states with the lowest number of Trichoptera records. In light of this, the present study aimed to conduct a survey of Trichoptera in PEL, as well as to provide new geographic records of species and describe new species. Collections were made in 2016, 2017, and 2018 in nine streams, using flight interception traps (Malaise) and light traps (Pennsylvania). With the completion of this study, the number of valid Trichoptera species in Lajeado State Park increased from seven to 40, and in Tocantins, from eight to 41, distributed across 23 genera and 12 families. Of these species, Oecetis chipiriri Rueda Martín, Gibon & Molina, 2011, is recorded for the first time in Brazil. Additionally, 30 new species for science were cataloged, with four of them formally described, illustrated, and in the process of publication. It is worth noting that the genus Banyallarga is reported for the first time in Brazil. Therefore, inventories like these are of great importance to overcome deficits in knowledge about Trichoptera in our country, especially in conservation units, which aim to preserve biodiversity and are often negatively affected by human activities, as is already happening in the vicinity of PEL.