Folia Historico-Naturalia Musei Matraensis - A Mátra Múzeum Természetrajzi Közleményei 15. (1990)

Uherkovich, Á.–Nógrádi, S.: The Trichoptera fauna of the Great Hungarian Plain, Hungary

Fol. Hist.-nat. Mus. Matr., 15: 43-75, 1990 The Trichoptera fauna of the Great Hungarian Plain, Hungary UHERKOVICH Ákos - NÓGRÁDI Sára Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs ABSTRACT: 9? Trichoptera species have been collected on 122 sites of the Great Hungarian Plain. The list of species with all localities and data is given. Some quantitative tables and maps are presented. INTRODUCTION In the last decade some papers have been published summarizing our knowledge about caddisflies of some Hungarian regions CNÓGRÁDI et al. 1985, NÓGRÁDI and UHERKOVICH 1985, 1988, UHERKOVICH and NÓGRÁDI L988). In the past years two large collections of Hungarian Natural History Museun, Budapest and Mátra Museum, Gyöngyös were revised, redetermined and published С NÓGRÁDI 1989a, 1989b). Beside these, several short publications presented data about caddisflies of smaller regions or some sites. Until recent time only very few papers give Trichoptera data from the Great Hungarian Plain. The first paper giving knowledge to this theme was the most important faunistical work of the turn of this century: Fauna Regni Hungáriáé СМОCSÁRY 1900). After several years the number of data hasn't remarkably grown С PONGRÁCZ I914). Sátori'

s activity was the next station in this process. He worked as professor of Debrecen University and he delt with the Trichoptera fauna of Nyírség С NE Hungary) among others. His results were published С SÁTORI 1935). After thirty years of interruption ÚJHELYI С

1971) wrote about the Hungarian leptocerids presenting several data from the Great Hungarian Plain too. Later he revised hydropsychids of his own collection С ÚJHELYI 1982). At the first time our activity was occasional in this region. Few times we were collecting around Szeged. Later we joined the team of Museum of Békéscsaba CE Hungary), to examine the flora and fauna of County Békés, mostly the region of river Körös. The results of these examinations have not been published till recent time. , GE0M0RPH0L0GY, HYDROGRAPHY The height of surface does not surpass 200 m anywhere, and the lowest point is about 78 m a. s. 1. around Szeged. The surface was formed by the wind С shifting sand, loess) and by the rivers Сsedimental soils). The situation of the rivers was constantly changing and large areas were flooded by them. After controlling of the rivers Cin the last century) the bed became more permanent but the level of fluctuation even more extreme. Several curves were cut through, thus dead branches were formed. Later these dead branches developed independently and a special vegetationcame to life in them. Simultaneously alkaline soil were developing out of the embankments. Almost all rivers of the Great Hungarian Plain have artifical beds. Somewhere - mostly Bast of the river Tisza - dense inland water and irrigation canal network is formed. The natural waters are moderately polluted, in some places heavily polluted, e. g. the old bed of the river Fehér Körös called now Élővízcsatorna running through the towns of Gyula and Békéscsaba. The soluted oxygen can decrease to almost zero every summer. In the past decades some weirs were built. Swelling up the water can cause several problems in water quality: the oxygen content can be very low because of the lack of turbulence. Larger alkaline lakes are utilized as fish-ponds. Artifical fish-ponds were also formed which are fed by the water of a larger canal or river. The water network of the Great Hungarian Plain is shown by Fig. 1. 43