New additions to the caddisfly fauna (Insecta: Trichoptera) of the Sharr Mountains in Kosovo

Adult caddisflies were collected in the Opojë Region belonging to the Sharr Mountains in Kosovo from May to October 2013. This mountainous area which is known for many endemic and rare species of plants and animals is still not enough explored in terms of caddisfly fauna. A diverse fauna consisting of 11 families and 43 species was found. Three species found during this investigation are first records for the Kosovo caddisfly fauna: Limnephilus lunatus, Micropterna lateralis and Plectrocnemia geniculata. The stenoendemic species Chaetopteroides kosovarorum is found for the second time in Kosovo. Several other rare species were recorded during this investigation. The most interesting finding is species Plectrocnemia geniculata, which is very widespread in Opojë Region and at the same time this represents one of the rarest occurrences of this species in the Balkans. This study contributes to the knowledge of the caddisfly fauna of the Sharr Mountains and adds to the list of known caddisfly species from Kosovo. Peninsula: Rhyacophila Rhyacophila Rhyacophila Rhyacophila loxias, Rhyacophila botosaneanui, Limnephilus sparsus, Odontocerum Oecismus


Introduction
Opojë is one of the mountainous territories of the Dukagjin plain in Kosovo, located within the Sharr and Koritnik mountains. Its territory lies between 42 ° 00 '18 "and 42 ° 09' 04" latitude and 20 ° 36 '17'' and 20 ° 47' 40 " longitude. The average altitude is 1380 meters. Main rivers of this region are Plavë River and Bresane River, with many tributaries originating mainly from Sharr Mountains. The part of Opojë Region located beneath the Koritnik Mountains is poor in streams and rivers. Streams and rivers of the Opojë region belong to the Adriatic Sea watershed. They flow through Plavë River into the territory of Albania, where they discharge into the Drini i Bardhë River. The caddisfly fauna of the southern Kosovo, including Opojë Ecologica Montenegrina 23: 40-46 (2019) This journal is available online at: www.biotaxa.org/em Region has been poorly investigated with only few fragmentary data until now (e.g. Marinković-Gospodnetić 1975, 1980Oláh et al. 2013;Ibrahimi et al. 2014aIbrahimi et al. , b, 2016Ibrahimi et al. , 2017.
The goal of this study was to investigate the composition and distribution of caddisflies of the Opojë Region and accordingly to contribute to the list of the caddisfly species of the Sharr Mountains and Kosovo.

Material and Methods
Adult caddisfly specimens were collected by using aerial nets during the day and UV pyramid-type lighttraps during the night. The sampling was carried during the period May-October 2013, once per month at seven sampling stations in different streams and rivers in the Opojë Region (Table 1, Figure 1). The pyramid light traps were placed on stream banks and operated for one hour and fifteen minutes immediately after the dusk. Collected samples were preserved in 80 % ethanol. The specimens were identified under a stereomicroscope with determination keys from Malicky (2004) and Kumanski (1985Kumanski ( , 1988. All specimens were identified up the species level with the exception of females of Hydropsyche Pictet, 1834, which are identified only up to the genus level. The collection is deposited at the Laboratory of Zoology of the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, University of Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo. Systematic presentation was done according to the Trichoptera World Checklist (Morse 2019).

Discussion
Three species found during this investigation are first records for the Kosovo caddisfly fauna: Limnephilus lunatus, Micropterna lateralis and Plectrocnemia geniculata. Limnephilus lunatus is a widespread species in Europe and is also present in all countries surrounding Kosovo (Malicky 2019). During this investigation it has been found in one sampling station only (S7 Brezne). The preferred habitat for this species are mostly shorelines of standing waters (Graf et al. 2008) and it was accordingly also found in same habitats during this investigation at station S7 at Brezne Lake. Micropterna lateralis is present all over European continent but not very widespread in the Balkan Peninsula (Malicky 2019) and thus its finding in Kosovo contributes to the expansion of its known areal of distribution. During this investigation it has been found in one sampling station only (S4 Kuk) with only two specimens during the whole period of investigation. The most interesting finding during this investigation is species Plectrocnemia geniculata. The species seems to be very widespread in the Opojë Region since it has been found in six, out of seven stations sampled during this investigation. These records are one of the very few records from the Balkan Peninsula. Beside mainland Greece, from where it is reported from numerous localities (Malicky 2005) it is only reported from Serbia based on larval specimens few decades ago (Radovanovic 1935). As noted in this publication, the larvae of Plectrocnemia geniculata and P. conspersa are difficult to differentiate based on knowledge of the time of publication, and thus the actual findings from Kosovo are the only reliable data about the presence of this species in the Balkan Peninsula (beside Greece), based on adult specimens. During this investigation we found for the second time the stenoendemic species Chaetopteroides kosovarorum. It has been described recently from Bajgorë area (Olah et al. 2013) belonging to the Kopaonik Mountains and its finding in the Sharr Mountains shows that it is distributed widely than previously thought. Different from type locality, where this species was found in a small headwater streamlet, during this investigation we found it in a middle section of a river with considerably different habitat composition. This study also contributes to the expansion of the known distribution area of several species, known previously only from few localities in the Balkan Peninsula: Rhyacophila armeniaca, Rhyacophila fischeri, Rhyacophila laevis, Rhyacophila loxias, Rhyacophila mocsaryi, Drusus botosaneanui, Limnephilus sparsus, Odontocerum hellenicum and Oecismus monedula.
This study contributes to the knowledge of the caddisfly fauna of the Opojë region and Sharr Mountains and adds to the list of known caddisfly species from the Republic of Kosovo.