Stoneflies - Plecoptera: Perlidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoAcroneuria abnormis Common Stonefly, Golden Stone(Newman 1838)Updated 18 Feb 2019
TSN 102919 
NotesOlder publications may refer to this species as Perla abnormis.Good LinksOn this website:Perlodidae Introduction Other Websites: Photos, Map, Museum specimens, DNA - Barcodinglife.org Photos - from Troutnut.com ReferencesBaumann,RW; Gaufin,AR; Surdick,RF 1977 The stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Rocky Mountains. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 31, 1-208. PDFThey note "Nymphs of this species have been incorrectly called both Calineuria californica and Doroneuria theodora in the past. The adults emerge from June to August." Figure 465 illustrates male genitalia in dorsal view and Figure 466 shows the female subgenital plate on page 157. Béthoux,O 2005 Wing venation pattern of Plecoptera (Insecta: Neoptera). Illiesia, 1(9):52-81. PDF 
Bottorff,RL; Knight,AW 1987 Ectosymbiosis between Nanocladius downesi (Diptera: Chironomidae) and Acroneuria abnormis (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in a Michigan stream, USA) Entomol. Gener. 12: 97-113. Abstract: " All larval instars and pupae of the chironomid Nanocladius downesi (Steffan 1965) are found living ectosymbiotically on the stonefly All larval instars and pupae of the chironomid Nanocladius downesi (Steffan 1965) are found living ectosymbiotically on the stonefly Acroneuria abnormis (Newman 1838) in a Michigan stream, USA. Midge larvae occur year-round on the stonefly; pupae occur from April-September. Infestations are highest in autumn-winter and lowest in summer. Overwintering midge larvae synchronize their development to emerge prior to the May-July stonefly emergence. Midge density and instar influence attachments sites on the hosts; both larvae and pupae are most abundant on the mesothoracic wing sheaths. The spatial dispersion of midge larvae on the host stonefly population alternate between random (May-Aug) and regular (Sept-Apr). Territoriality between midge larvae is indicated by (1) changes in attachment site with midge density and instar, and (2) the spatial dispersion of midges on the host stonefly population. Possible benefits and costs of this ectosymbiosis are discussed. Acroneuria abnormis (Newman 1838) in a Michigan stream, USA. Midge larvae occur year-round on the stonefly; pupae occur from April-September. Infestations are highest in autumn-winter and lowest in summer. Overwintering midge larvae synchronize their development to emerge prior to the May-July stonefly emergence. Midge density and instar influence attachments sites on the hosts; both larvae and pupae are most abundant on the mesothoracic wing sheaths. The spatial dispersion of midge larvae on the host stonefly population alternate between random (May-Aug) and regular (Sept-Apr). Territoriality between midge larvae is indicated by (1) changes in attachment site with midge density and instar, and (2) the spatial dispersion of midges on the host stonefly population. Possible benefits and costs of this ectosymbiosis are discussed. " Clubb,RW; Gaufin,AR; Lords,JL 1975 Acute cadmium toxicity studies upon nine species of aquatic insects. Environmental Research 9, 332-341. Dodds,GS; Hisaw,FL 1925 Ecological studies on aquatic insects. IV. Altitudinal range and zonation of mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies in the Colorado Rockies. Ecology 6 4, 380-390. Dosdall,LM and Giberson,DJ 2014 Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands, 3: 201-229. PDF Nymph photo on page 202. Hagen,HA, 1874 Report on the Pseudo-neuroptera and Neuroptera collected by Lieut. W.L. Carpenter in 1873 in Colorado. Annual Report of the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, embracing Colorado, 7: 571-577. Discussed as Perla abnormis. 
Harper,PP; Ricker,WE 1994 Distribution of Ontario Stoneflies (Plecoptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 125, 43-66. Kondratieff,BC and Baumann,RW 2002 A review of the stoneflies of Colorado with description of a new species of Capnia (Plecoptera: Capniidae). Transactions of American Entomological Society 128 3, 385-401. Abstract:"Eighty-six species of stoneflies are reported from Colorado, including a new species of Capnia. Three new state records are reported, Bolshecapnia milami (Nebeker and Gaufin), Capnura fibula (Claassen), and Isoperla marlynia (Needham and Claassen). Ninety percent of all Colorado stoneflies are typical western North American species, with seven species, Paracapnia angulata Hanson, Taeniopteryx burksi Ricker and Ross, T. parvula Banks, I. marlynia, Acroneuria abnormis (Newman), Perlesta decipiens (Walsh), and Isoperla bilineata (Say) having eastern affinities. Arcynopteryx compacta (McLachlan) is considered circumpolar species." Long,A; Ashe,W; Ravana,K and Simon,KS 2011 The effects of water velocity and sediment size on Acroneuria abnormis (Plecoptera: Perlidae) entrainment. Aquatic Insects, 33(2), pp.105-112. Abstract: "We investigated the roles that velocity and substrate size play in the drift of stonefly larvae (Acroneuria abnormis). Acroneuria were introduced into an experimental flume containing homogeneous substrates of different size (small gravel, large gravel, or cobble), or a mixture of various substrate sizes. For each substrate Acroneuria were subjected to three different velocities (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 ms-1) corresponding to base flow conditions in real streams, and the number of individuals entrained into the water column was measured. Entrainment was nearly two times higher from the smallest substrates than larger substrates and the heterogeneous mixture of substrate sizes. Higher entrainment from the small particles appeared to result from lower availability of refugia among particles and movement of particles under the higher water velocities. Entrainment generally increased with increasing discharge on small and large, but not intermediate-sized, particles. Our results suggest there may be dynamic Acroneuria entrainment under low flow conditions in streams." Martin, C.A., Luoma, S.N., Cain, D.J. and Buchwalter, D.B., 2007 Cadmium ecophysiology in seven stonefly (Plecoptera) species: delineating sources and estimating susceptibility. Environmental science & technology, 41(20), pp.7171-7177. PDF Needham,JG and Claassen,PW 1925 A Monograph of the Plecoptera of North America. Entomological Society of America, Lafayette, Indiana. 397 pages.    
 
 
Nelson,CH 2009 Surface ultrastructure and evolution of tarsal attachment structures in Plecoptera (Arthropoda: Hexapoda). Aquatic Insects, (31)523-545. Html The author used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to image the plantar surfaces of the stonefly tarsomeres and pretarsus of Acroneuria abnormis and a number of other species. Newman,E 1838 Entomological notes. Entomological Magazine 5:168-181. Described as Perla abnormis on pages 177 and 178: 
Peckarsky,BL 1979 A review of the distribution, ecology, and evolution of the North American species of Acroneuria and six related genera (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 52 4, 787-809. Peckarsky,BL 1986 Colonization of natural substrates by stream benthos. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 43, 700-709. Peckarsky,BL 1987 Mayfly cerci as defense against stonefly predation: deflection and detection. Oikos 48 2, 161-170. Richardson,JW and Gaufin,AR 1971 Food habits of some western stonefly nymphs. Transactions of American Entomological Society 97, 91-121. Sheldon,AL 1980 Coexistence of perlid stoneflies (Plecoptera): predictions from multivariate morphometrics. Hydrobiologia, 71(1) 99-105. 1st two pages Stark,BP and Gaufin,AR 1976a The nearctic genera of Perlidae (Plecoptera). Miscellaneous Publications of the Entomological Society of America 10, 1-80. Stark,BP and Gaufin,AR 1976b The nearctic species of Acroneuria (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 49 2, 221-253. Walton,OEJ; Reice,SR and Andrews,RW 1977 The effects of density, sediment particle size and velocity on drift of Acroneuria abnormis (Plecoptera). Oikos 28, 291-298. Warnick,SL and Bell,HL 1969 The acute toxicity of some heavy metals to different insects. Journal WPCF 41 2, 280-284. Wipfli,MS and Merritt,RW 1994 Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis on nontarget benthic insects through direct and indirect exposure. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13 (2) 190-205.
Brown,WS 2004 Plecoptera or Stoneflies of Gunnison County, Colorado www.gunnisoninsects.org "We owe something to extravagance, for thrift and adventure seldom go hand in hand." -- Lady Randolph Churchhill |
