(Meigen, 1838)
Body
Medium sized larvae. Living larvae reddish. No lateral and ventral tubules (Wiederholm, 1983; Moller Pillot, 1984a).
Head
The head capsule is shining with a length of 328 - 375 µm. The gula is uniform pale. The eyes are close together, but not fused Pol albicorne head. Anterior margin of frontal apotome is straight without a subapical pit, but with anterio-lateral lobes on which the S3 is inserted. Labral sclerite 1 absent, sclerite 2 present.
Antenna
The antenna consists of 5 segments Pol alb antenna9. Lauterborn organs distally on the second segment. The blade nearly reaches the apex of the 4th segment. The 4th segment is almost 2 x as long as the 3d segment.
Mentum
The mentum has 2 median teeth and 7 pairs of lateral teeth. The median teeth are larger than the first lateral teeth and about equal as the 2nd lateral Pol albicorne ment. The ventromental plates are 0.7 x as wide as the mentum.
Labrum
SI is plumose on both sides and labral lamellae a single plate with numerous distal teeth. The pecten epipharyngis with 3 small plates with distal teeth Pol pecten epiph. The premandible has three teeth.
Mandible
The mandible with a dorsal tooth Pol g nub mandible, apical tooth dark and 2 inner teeth. The pecten mandibularis is present and seta interna with plumose branches.
Differential characteristics
Two median and 7 pairs of lateral teeth on the mentum Pol g nub mentum 8, with Lauterborn organs on the second segment and shining dorsal headcapsule will separate Polypedilum from all other genera except from Parachironomus which however has a completely different mentum Parach arc mentum.
P. albicorne can be separated from the other Polypedilum by:
Pale gula, 1st lateral tooth smaller than the 2nd lateral, head length > 325 µm and 4th antennal segment much longer than the 3d segment.