Abstract

PADILLA-GIL, Dora Nancy. Veliidae (Hemiptera: Gerromorpha) in the Andean-Pacific piedmont in South-West Colombia. Rev. acad. colomb. cienc. exact. fis. nat. [online]. 2022, vol.46, n.179, pp.372-379.  Epub Sep 07, 2023. ISSN 0370-3908.  https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.1599.

The Veliidae is one of the most diverse semiaquatic hemipterans family. They are predators with an important role in the trophic chains of lotic ecosystems. The focus of this study was to determine the composition, richness, and distribution of the Veliidae family in the Andean-Pacific piedmont, department of Nariño, in South-West Colombia. From 2010 to 2011, we established ten sampling sites to collect the Veliid species. We specified and compared the geographic and altitudinal distribution, as well as the composition of each species at this altitudinal gradient through a UPGMA analysis. The results showed the composition of the different species in each site, the "Río Ñambí" Nature Reserve being the one with the highest species richness for which we recommend turning this reserve located in the Andes mountain range into a center for veliids biodiversity. Here, 19 species of Rhagovelia and Microvelia were found living in the same premontane rain forest in different aquatic ecosystems and microhabitats.

Keywords : Semiaquatic insects; Rhagovelia; Microvelia; Neotropic; Elevational distribution.

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