Stoneflies of Taiwan within the Oriental Stonefly Fauna Diversity

Abstract

Unlike some other insect groups such as Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, the advanced study of Plecoptera was begun rather late. Still the taxonomic knowledge of European and North American stoneflies is among the best of all insects. Biodiversity estimates for other areas including much of the Oriental region, however, are far from complete. The inventory of Taiwan Plecoptera, initiated by Okamoto (1912) and Klapálek (1912), had until recently reached 31 species, but a few intense collecting trips has revealed a much richer Taiwanese stonefly diversity than expected. In this study, an overview of the stonefly fauna from different Asian countries is presented and comparison is made with the holarctic fauna.