| Author | Bass, J. |
| Year | 1998 |
| Title | Last-instar larvae and pupae of the Simuliidae of Britain and Ireland: a key with brief ecological notes |
| ISBN | 0 900386 58 4 |
| Series | Scientific Publications |
| Type | Book/Report |
| How Complete | All the British species known at the time |
| Source | Scientific Publications, no. 55, 102pp, Freshwater Biological Association |
| Illustrations | Line and stipple drawings accompany the text |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | Introductory chapters include checklist, taxonomic notes, habitats, substrata, behaviour, morphology (including features of taxonomic importance), collection, preservation and examination. Last instar larvae are recognised by the presence of a dark spot (the future pupal gills) in the middle of the thoracic swelling (p.16) The following keys are presented: last-instar larvae, short-cut key for last-instar larvae, pupae (with cocoons). The main keys are arranged with text on the left page and diagrams on the right, although you often need to refer to drawings on other pages. The short cut only works for larvae which happen to have died in the relaxed state. The final section consists of supplementary notes including descriptions of the immature stages and their ecology. |
| Errata, Corrigenda & Comments | P50: the legend to fig 20 is stuck on in my copy. It reads: "Fig 20. Pupal cocoon (also see Fig. 22) and gill filaments of *Simulium noeleri* (the branching plane of the filaments is indicated to the right of the gill)." |
| Examine |  Stereo Microscope ( Compound Microscope is also useful) |
| Specimen Preparation | Preserve in alcohol (4% formaldehyde also acceptable, fresh Carnoy’s fluid if to observe giant chromosomes from salivary gland). Select larvae with rectal organ exposed. Dissection required. For pupae, the cocoon is also needed. |
| Identification difficulty | The key to pupae is quite straightforward |
