Occurrence of chironomid larvae living inside fallen-fruits in Atlantic Forest streams, Brasil

occurrence of chironomid larvae living inside fallen-fruits in atlantic forest streams, brazil - the chironomidae larvae explore a wide variety of habitats and kinds of food. in this study we reported the use of fallen-fruits by chironomid larvae in low order streams in the brazilian atlantic forest. we found chironomid larvae mining fruit tissue of 12 tree species. seven morphospecies of endotribelos were identified, including the species e. albatum and e. grodhaus found for the first time in brazil. our results suggest that larvae of endotribelos are the commonest insect group living inside fallen-fruits in streams.