Contreras-Lichtenberg, 1999
Subgenus Glyptotendipes
Body
Large larvae up to 11 mm long. Living larvae red to dark red. No lateral tubules and if ventral tubules are present on the 11th segment than they are about as long as wide (Wiederholm, 1983; Vallenduuk, 1999).
Head
Length 700 - 820 µm. The head capsule is dull due to the intensive fine granulation. The head with thin brown lines bordering the frontal apotome. The remainder of the dorsal headcapsule is pale Gl ospeli head pict 8. Anterior margin of frontal apotome concave. Labral sclerites 1 and 2 both rectangular (Vallenduuk, 1999).
Antenna
The antenna consists of 5 segments. The first segment is 85 - 95 µm long. The blade is shorter than the flagellum. Lauterborn organs distally on the second segment (Wiederholm, 1983; Vallenduuk, 1999).
Mentum
The mentum has one median tooth and 6 pairs of lateral teeth (see Contreras-Lichtenberg and Kiknadze, 2000 however). The median tooth is not projecting and the fourth lateral tooth is reduced. The distance between the ventromental plates at about 1.5 x the width of the median tooth (Vallenduuk, 1999)
Labrum
The pecten epipharyngis with many unequal distal teeth and small points on the surface. The premandible has two apical teeth.
Mandible
The mandible with a pale dorsal tooth, apical tooth and 3 inner teeth. The pecten mandibularis is present and seta interna with 4 toothed and plumose branches (Wiederholm, 1983; Vallenduuk, 1999).
Differential characteristics
The combination of dull headcapsule, simpel mid-mental tooth and 6 pairs of lateral teeth Glyp mentum are distinctive for subgenus Glyptotendipes. Subgenus Caulochironomus can be identified by shining headcapsule, frontoclypeal apotome with concave anterior margin, labral sclerites 1 and 2 present Caulochir frontoclypeus and three inner mandibular teeth. In subgenus Trichotendipes the combination of a subapical pit on the frontal apotome and clypeus separate from frontal apotome Glyp signatus frontoclypeus is distinctive.
G. ospeli can be separated from the other species of subgenus Glyptotendipes by:
The Y-shaped dark band on the head with a length < 850 µm, very short tubules on the 11th segment or none and ventromental plates about 1.5 x the width of the median tooth apart.