Parapsyche extensa Denning, 1949:40
King's Creek parapsyche caddisfly
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Globally Rediscovered
Last (and only) record: 6 July 1947 (Denning, 1949:40 contra Shanks, n.d. [viz. 6 July 1957 in error])
Rediscovered in: 2013 (Givens, 2014, 2015)
The species was long known only from the holotype male collected on 6 July 1947 (Denning, 1949:40), and it was apparently considered possibly extinct (fide Shanks, n.d.). The species was rediscovered by Donald Givens in 2013:
"Extensive collecting in LVNP in 2011 and 2012 did not yield specimens of adults or larvae of P. extensa from other streams within the Park. However, in 2013, adults and larvae were collected from several small tributaries of King’s Creek. In 2013, larvae were also collected from a small creek in the Hat Creek drainage, about 1.6 km up the trail to Paradise Meadow, LVNP (Givens 2014)."
(Givens, 2015)
Distribution & Habitat
California, USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Denning, D. G. (1949). New species of Nearctic caddis flies. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 44(2): 37-48.
Other references:
Denning, D. G. (1956). Trichoptera, pp. 237-270. In: Usinger, R. L. (ed.). Aquatic Insects of California. Berkley: University of California Press. 508 pp.
Erman, Nancy A. and Nagano, Christopher D. (1992). A review of the California caddisflies (Trichoptera) listed as candidate species on the 1989 federal "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Animal Notice of Review". California Fish and Game 78(2): 24-56 [47].
Givens, Donald R. (2014). An annotated list of caddisflies (Trichoptera) collected in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, U.S.A. during 2011–2013. Entomological News 124(3): 153-175. https://dx.doi.org/10.3157/021.124.0301
Givens, Donald R. (2015). Parapsyche species (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae: Arctopsychinae) of western North America. Zootaxa 4057(4): 451-489. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4057.4.1
Givens, Donald R. and Smith, S. D. (1980). A synopsis of the western Arctopsychinae (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae). Melanderia 35: 1-25.
Morse, John C. (1993). A checklist of the Trichoptera of North America, including Greenland and Mexico. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 119(1): 47-93. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25058246
NatureServe. (2026). Parapsyche extensa: King's Creek Parapsyche Caddisfly. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 7 October 2026]
Rasmussen, Andrew K. and Morse, John C. (2020). Distributional checklist of Nearctic Trichoptera (Fall 2020 Revision). Florida A&M University, Tallahassee. 517 pp. [Available at: https://www.trichoptera.org/].
Rasmussen, Andrew K. and Morse, John C. (2023). Distributional Checklist of Nearctic Trichoptera (2022 Revision). Florida A&M University, Tallahassee. 541 pp. [Available at: https://www.trichoptera.org].
Shanks, Sandra. (n.d.). Parapsyche extensa. California Department of Fish and Game, Natural Diversity Database.
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/1782/parapsyche-extensa
https://www.fws.gov/species/kings-creek-parapsyche-caddisfly-parapsyche-extensa
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Brian Acord (California Department of Fish and Wildlife) for bringing the rediscovery of Parapsyche extensa to my attention.