Discovery of the female of Parasimulium (Astoneomyia) melanderi Stone (Diptera : Simuliidae) in a cave in British Columbia, with a discussion of its phylogenetic position

Two females of Parasimulium (Astoneomyia) melanderi Stone were collected fr om a cave on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and these are described for the first time. The presence of elongate, thickened setae on various body parts are possibly adaptations to subterranean existence. Further phylogene tic interpretation supports earlier hypotheses that the subgenus Astoneomyi a Peterson is the sister group of Parasimulium s. str. and that together th ey form the sister group of all other Simuliidae.