ELLIOTT ET AL.: THE CAVE FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 
39 
most reduced eyes of any species of Eleodes, although it is still a dark color. Pitfall trapping has 
not found E. (C.) microps outside of Poleta Cave, Inyo County. A typical troglophile or trogloxene, 
Eleodes dentipes, is seen in Figure 84. 
Flies (Order Diptera) 
Common dipterans include Heleomyzidae (sun flies, Fig. 82), Mycetophilidae (fungus gnats, 
Figs. 83, 86), and crane flies in the families Limoniidae (Fig. 87), Tipulidae (Fig. 88), and 
Trichoceridae (the smaller winter crane flies). See the Ecology section below for a discussion of 
Graham’s studies of these groups. 
Bees and Ants (Order Ftymenoptera) 
No California hymenopterans are troglobites, although a few ants are likely troglophiles and 
others are trogloxenes; one species in Laos may be a troglobite (Pape 2016). The honey bee, Apis 
mellifera, has been recorded from the entrance area of a few caves in California. Although eight 
species of ant have been found in California caves, most are accidental. Prenolepis impairs, how¬ 
ever, has been taken from caves in Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties. In some 
it has been present in all parts of the cave. It is considered a trogloxene. 
Moths (Order Lepidoptera) 
Two moth species frequent the entrance area of caves in California. The most common is the 
twilight moth, Triphosa haesitata (Family Arctiidae, Fig. 89). This species has been found in 
numerous caves at varying elevations and terrains. It was the subject of careful study in Empire 
Cave by Graham (1962b, 1968d). It seems to be absent from most Sierra Nevada caves, but it may 
occur in many more caves than are listed. The second species is Scoliopteryx libatrix (Family 
Geometridae), known from three caves in the Marble Mountains, Siskiyou County, but widespread 
across the U.S.A. Both hibernate in caves. Undetermined specimens of the clothes moth Family 
Tineidae have been recorded from caves. This family is frequently found in caves and some appear 
to be troglophiles. 
Fleas (Order Siphonaptera) 
At least sixteen species of fleas have been recorded from rodents or their nests in caves in Lava 
Beds National Monument, but without specific caves being recorded. These were obtained during 
a study of plague in rodents in the monument (Nelson and Smith 1976; Stark and Kinney 1969). 
Three species in the genus Myodopsylla were taken from bats in mines and crevices. 
Groundwater Fauna 
California’s known groundwater fauna comprises crustaceans, flatworms, and aquatic snails. 
Groundwater collects underground in soil spaces, bedrock pores and cracks, constituting another 
kind of subterranean habitat in which life flourishes. Groundwater habitats are similar to cave habi¬ 
tats in that they are totally dark and have less variation in temperature than the surface above, but 
groundwater habitats differ from caves because there are fewer food inputs from the surface. 
There has been no organized sampling of groundwater fauna in California. Instead, ground- 
water fauna have been opportunistically discovered during other aquatic sampling programs, either 
for stream bioassessment or for cave bioinventories (see Methods). 
