Psychoda (Chodopsycha) divaricata Duckhouse, 1968

Saidoun, Imane, El Mouden, Mohamed Amin, Boussaa, Samia & Belqat, Boutaïna, 2025, New records of genera and species of moth flies (Diptera, Psychodidae: Psychodinae) from Morocco, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 11 (1), pp. 151-169 : 156

Psychoda (Chodopsycha) divaricata Duckhouse, 1968 ***

Material examined. Rif: 2♂♂, Cascade Chrafate, 24.V.2013, reared, coll. Saidoun, UAE-FST.

General distribution. Brazil ( Duckhouse, 1968; Bravo et al., 2006; Bravo, 2008; Cordeiro & Bravo, 2008; Cordeiro, 2009; Cordeiro et al., 2011; Bravo & Araújo, 2013); France ( Gibernau & Albre, 2022).

Habitat. We found the species in a forest where the waterfall Cascade Chrafate is located. Abundant vegetation included Olea oleaster , Ficus carica , Rubus ulmifolius , Eucalyptus , Nerium oleander , Hedera maroccana , and Ricinus communis ( Fig. 4). The waterfall that supported larvae and pupae of P. divaricata was about 5 m wide, but the sections wetted at the time of capture were 0.2–2.6 m 2.6 wide. The water was cold (12.7 ºC), slightly mineralized (395 μS), with low salinity (0.2), a pH near neutral (7.5), and a strong to torrential current. Sunlight at the time of collection was medium. The substrate consisted of gravel, with scattered boulders and abundant riparian vegetation, submerged and floating mosses, and algae. Substrate, richer in mosses than algae, was removed from rocks, along with the soil, and transported to the laboratory to rear the aquatic stages.