First records of Lasiodiamesa gracilis (Kieffer, 1924), Parochlus kiefferi (Garrett, 1925) and several other Chironomidae from the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract

The species composition of the Chironomidae fauna in the Czech Republic is still poorly known despite a long tradition in Chironomidae research, already established by Prof. Jan Zavřel in the beginning of the 20th century. The major reasons are a low number of researchers dealing with Chironomidae in the Czech Republic and their traditional focus on larvae, which usually cannot be identified to species. As a result, only a small portion of the chironomid fauna living in the Czech Republic has been discovered so far and many chironomid species are first to be recorded in the future. This concerns both (common) species that are already known from Slovakia and other neighbouring countries, and species living in poorly studied habitats, such as montane springs or bogs.