Kat Mayhew (Reporter)
ECOLOGICAL groups are protesting construction work in Juzcar that is endangering an insect found only in Andalucia.
According to the environmental group Grupo de Trabajo Valle del Genal, road construction work commissioned by the Malaga Provincial Council is destroying the natural habitat of a type of snail-case caddisfly.
The species, scientifically known as helicopsychidae, was discovered recently in 2008 in the source of the Suas River in Juzcar.
Very little is known about it other than its habitat—pure, cold water high in oxygen and vegetation—and its shell-like structure, which is constructed out of grains of sand.
Although the river has experienced some human intervention prior to this, never before has it seen such destruction.
The Provincial Council of Juzcar ‘demands an urgent restoration in order to avoid irreparable damage’ to the rich ecosystem of the river and the organisms that live there.
