Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 28 (1983) (Pécs, 1984)

Természettudományok - U. Nógrádi, Sára: The caddisfly fauna of the Valley Nagy-mély-völgy, Mecsek Mountains, Hungary (Trichoptera)

THE CADDISFLY FAUNA OF THE VALLEY NAGY-MÉLY-VÖLGY, MECSEK MOUNTAINS, HUNGARY (TRICHOPTERA) SÁRA U. NÓGRÁDI The area examined Abstract. The collection of caddistlies yielded 765 specimens of 34 species during the years 1981 and 1982. Authoress gives the short synopsis of earlier researches and the list ot collected material. Some data of rare or characteristic species, as well as brief ecological analysis, are presented. Results till now of domestic research on caddisflies are insufficient as compared with other insect orders. This fact is valid for South Transdanubia and, within this area, for the Mecsek Mountains, in particular. Trichopterological data referring to this area are hardly any. Only one single paper (Sátori 1939) had given a short list on some caddisflies from Mecsek Mountains publishing erraneous data, too, some of which were adapted by Steinmann (1970). Many insect orders are represented well from this area in the collections of museums, among others in the Natural History Museum, Budapest, and in some private collections. It is surprising, however, that these collections contain no caddisfly material of the Mecsek Mountains and South Transdanubia. In the recent years a great amount of caddisflies haven been captured here by Á. Uherkovich first causally, afterwards methodically. The bulk of this material can be found in the collection of Natural History Department of Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs, Hungary. Hydropsyche pellucidula Curt, was pointed out from Valley Éger-völgy, Mecsek Mountains and Hydropsyche fulvipes Curt, was from Tubes Hill, Mecsek Mountains by S. Újhelyi (1982), on the basis of Uherkovich's collections. Further data were published in Ujhelyi's (1971, 1981c) two papers from some sites of the wider environment of Mecsek Mountains, and South Transdanubia. Recently yet another paper dealing with the Trichoptera fauna of a region has been published (Újhelyi 1981a). Authoress joined the research of caddisfly fauna of South and West Transdanubia at the beginning of 1982. Since that time she has dealt with earner materials as well as collected herself, too, several times. As the richest caddisfly material has been obtained in Valley „Nagy-mély-völgy", Mecsek Mountains, this one will be presented first. The „Nagy-mély-völgy" running from the south to the north cuts deep into the surface. Its lenght is more than 3 km with a three-km-long permanent brook along it. From the east the brook of Valley „Petnyáki-völgy" (and through it the brook of Valley „Meleg-mány") discharges into it. The dry Valley „Zsidó völgy" joins it from the west. About a dozen of springs can be found in this network of valleys. The stony bed of the brook of „Nagy-mély-völgy" slants pretty strongly at some places, the bottom of slow flowing parts is covered with small stones and sand of limestone. On the upper reach there are travertine (calcareous tufa) formations: weirs, waterfalls and basins. The mass of water is led into the water-conduit network of the Town Waterworks of Komló, interior to our permanent collecting spot. Exterior to it the brook is fed by a single small spring, therefore the water of this reach is very shallow but permanent. The lowest reach is usually dry, because the water is swallowed by the basic limestone. The water reaches the very end of brook at high water level, only (in recent times after big showers). The brook joins the canal „Baranya-csatorna", beeing the most important water of the catchment area of NW Mecsek Mountains and the eastern parts of Zselic Downs (Figs. 1-2). On the surface there are Trassic limestone and Miocene conglomerates (Lovász - Wein 1974). The valley system, especially its lower reach, is extremely cool. This is caused by the deep cutting and the northern valley-mouth: the narrow valley can get little thermic radiation and it is suspectible to very strong inverse cooling. The main types of forests are the beeches (Helleboro odoro-Fagetum mecsekense) and - on smaller spots - ravine forest (Scutellaria-Aceretum mecsekense) (Horvát 1972). On the collecting spot some small fragments of grove were formed. In our opinion „Nagy-mély-völgy" is one of the most curious and coolest parts of Mecsek Mts., with definitive mountaineous character. A Janus Pannonius Múzeum Evkönyve (1983) 28: 15—22. Pécs (Hungária), 1984.