CHIRONOMUS (CHIRONOMUS) APRILINUS MEIGEN, 1818 (DIPTERA CHIRONOMIDAE), FIRST RECORD FROM ITALY: CYTOTAXONOMY AND ECOLOGY

Larvae, pupae and adult males of two populations of Chironomus (Chironomus) aprilinus Meigen, 1818 from two saline habitats in North and South Italy (Poiano spring and Giammatteo channel respectively) are described. The species can be easily identified at the larval stage because of the unequal length of ventral tubuli. The examination of pupal exuviae, adult male and salivary gland chromosomes confirmed the species identification. The two habitats differ in location and in salinity, the former (Poiano) is an inland spring in Northern Apennines (Emilia) with high salinity (12000 mg L-1), the latter (Giammatteo) is a channel near Lecce (Puglia) with a relatively low salinity content (1720 mg L-1) feeding a coastal lagoon (Acquatina). On the basis of the present information no substantial differences except in some morphometric measures were apparent between the two populations, despite the different salinity of the two habitats.