Freshwater Macroinvertebrates in Hong Kong

Platybaetis bishopi

General appearance
Body size medium up to about 6mm long (excluding antennae & cerci)
Body color yellow brown; thoracic nota and abdominal terga with some brown markings
Body dorsoventral flattened

Head
Antennae comparatively short, slightly shorter than head width
The details for mouthparts illustrated in the following pictures

Thorax
Hindwing pad absent; Villopore present
Femora and tibiae with a row of long setae dorsally
A long subapical seta present ventrally on all tarsi

Abdomen
Gills I - VII single, large, well tracheated
Terga II - IX with two pairs of dark markings medially: anterior pair divergent posteriorly (like Chinese character 8) & posterior pair smaller & oval shaped
Central filament is reduced to a few segments to give a two-tailed impression

Legs

The mouthparts of labrum, mandibles, maxillae and labium are illustrated as follow (hypopharynx is excluded).

Labrum

Mandibles

Maxillae

Labium

Distribution:
In Hong kong, specimens are recorded from Shing Mun, Tai Po Kau Forest Stream and Chuen Lung.

Habitat: Larvae are found in fast-flowing rocky streams.

Reference:
Tong, X. & Dudgeon, D. (2002) Platybaetis, a newly recorded genus of Baetidae from China (Insecta: Ephemeroptera). Wuyi Science Journal 18: 24-26.