Stoneflies - Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoPlumiperla diversa Margined Sallfly(Frison) 1935Updated 4 January 2026
TSN 103306 DescriptionSmall and yellow greenLife HistoryDewalt and Stewart (1995) did not collect any adults in 3 years of research. Nymphs were distinctive and identifiable to genus by March. Males and Females were distinguishable at this time. Growth continued until May when females attained a head capsule width about 10 percent larger that males. They have a univoltine - slow life cycle in the Rio Conejes river in southern Colorado. Kondratieff and Baumann note P. diversa is usually associated with Sweltsa lamba and Sweltsa borealis Adults can be found into late September and early October.NotesWas named Triznaka diversa and Alloperla diversa in the past.Good LinksPhotos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Plumiperla diversa at GbifPhotos, Map, Museums, DNA - Barcode of Life Data System Plecoptera Species File Plumiperla diversa Adult Photo by Riley Nelson from the Tree of Life http://tolweb.org/tree/eukaryotes/animals/arthropoda/hexapoda/plecoptera/slideshows/pleco2/sld004.htm ReferencesBaumann,RW, Gaufin,AR and Surdick,RF 1977 The stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Rocky Mountains. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 31, 1-208. PDF Page 188.As Triznaka diversa. DeWalt,RE; Hopkins,H; Neu-Becker,U and Stueber,G 2024 Plumiperla diversa (Frison, 1935). Plecoptera Species File. Retrieved on 2024-01-13 at https://plecoptera.speciesfile.org/otus/894206/overview I read one or another of the stonefly webpages from Plecoptera Species File regularly and sometimes add papers or other information I learned to the website you're reading https://www.gunnisoninsects.org/ :-) DeWalt,RE and Stewart,KW 1995 Life histories of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the Rio Conejos of southern Colorado. Great Basin Naturalist 55, 1-18. PDF Abstract: "Thirty-one stonefly species representing eight families were collected during the March 1987 to May 1990 study period. Genera represented by more than one species included Capnia, Utacapnia, Taenionema, Suwallia, Triznaka, Isogenoides, and Isoperla. Peak species richness was recorded on or near the summer solstice in 1988 and 1989. Climatic differences between years were reflected in nymphal development and emergence phenology of most species. New or important corroborative life history data are presented for 11 stonefly species of this assemblage. The hyporheic nymphal development of most chloroperlid species limited the number of early instars sampled and our capacity to interpret voltinism. Limited nymphal data suggested a univoltine-slow cycle for Plumiperla diversa (Frison). Adults of Suwallia pallidula (Banks) and S. wardi (Banks) were present for an extended summer period, but the bulk of their respective emergence times was temporally separated. Isogenoides zionensis Hanson, Pteronarcella badia (Hagen), and Pteronarcys californica Newport were all shown for the first time to have a 9-10-mo egg diapause, and all three species have a semivoltine life cycle. Skwala americana (Klapálek) and Isoperla fulva Claassen were further confirmed to have univoltine-slow cycles. Univoltine-fast and univoltine-slow life cycles are reported for the first time in I. phalerata and I. quinquepunctata, respectively. Regression analysis revealed that six of the eight abundant species had extended emergence patterns (slopes of <5%/d), while only two had synchronous patterns. Warmer spring and summer temperatures in 1989 increased the slopes for five of the eight species studied, but did not change their synchrony designation. Nine of 11 abundant species advanced their median emergence date in 1989 over 1988. This and the higher slope values are consistent with a hurried nymphal development and narrower emergence period due to the warmer thermal regime of 1989." Frison,TH 1935 New North American species of the genus Alloperla (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society (61)331-344. Described as Alloperla diversa. Hassage,RL 1989 Life histories, behavior and space partitioning in selected species of western North American Plecoptera. pHd Dissertation, University of North Texas. 105pgs. PDF Abstract: "Five species of stoneflies (Zapada haysi, Plumiperla diversa, Taenionema pacificum, Isoperla petersoni, Arcynopteryx compacta) from the North Slope and Interior of Alaska were examined for seasonal patterns of emergence of adults and growth of nymphs. Generally growth was retarded during the winter in this region, and all species except I. petersoni completed growth prior to January. The life cycles of six stonefly species (Prostoia besametsa, Triznaka signata, Sweltsa coloradensis, Isoperla fulva, Skwala parallela, Claassenia sabulosa) are described from northern New Mexico. In this region growth was generally less retarded during the winter than in Alaska; P. besametsa completed all nymphal growth during late fall and winter. Drumming behavior of a Colorado population of Pteronarcella badia was described using an evolutionary framework to explain the maintenance of signal variation in this species. Laboratory experiments were used to explore the effect of intraspecific and interspecific interactions on spatial partitioning in P. badia and Claassenia sabulosa. P. badia exhibited clumping and distributed itself as the surface area of substrate in low densities; however, in the presence of C. sabulosa its distribution was random and different from available surface area. A field study was used to examine spatial partitioning by three New Mexico stonefly species (I. fulva, P. besametsa, T. signata) and to ascertain patterns of microdistribution relating to several abiotic and biotic factors. Generally, there was an interaction of the measured abiotic parameters (current, water temperature, time) with nymphal size. Additionally, void space and sample volume were successfully used to compare biotic densities among leaf and mineral substrates, which were higher in leaf packs than in mineral substrates." 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. Quoted from page 393: "This small yellow-green chloroperlid is often abundant in smaller high-elevation streams of the Mountain and Plateau regions. Plumiperla diversa is usually associated with S. lamba and S. borealis. Adults can be found into late September or even early October." Radford,DS and Hartland-Rowe,R 1971 Emergence patterns of some Plecoptera in two mountain streams in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 49(5), 657-662. Discussed as Alloperla diversa South,EJ; Skinner,RK; DeWalt,RE; Davis,MA; Johnson,KP; Teslenko,VA; Lee,JJ; Malison,RL; Hwang,JM; Bae,YJ and Myers,LW 2021 A new family of stoneflies (Insecta: Plecoptera), Kathroperlidae, fam. n., with a phylogenomic analysis of the Paraperlinae (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae). Insect Systematics and Diversity, 5(4), p.1. PDF Table 1 indicates a P. diversa specimen was used in the phylogenetic analyses. Stewart,KW; Hassage,RL; Holder,SJ and Oswood,MW 1990 Life cycles of six stonefly species (Plecoptera) in subarctic and arctic Alaska streams. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 83(2)207-214. Abstract: Nymphal growth and emergence of adults are described for six species of stoneflies (Plecoptera) found in subarctic and arctic Alaska. The two Nemouridae studied are semivoltine; adults of Zapada haysi (Ricker) are present from May to July and adults of Nemoura arctica Esben-Petersen occur from June to July. The remaining four species are univoltine. Plumiperla diversa (Frison) (Chloroperlidae) has most of its growth occurring during the summer with emergence the following May-September. Taenionema pacificum (Banks) (Taeniopterygidae) completes nymphal growth by the end of January and has an early emergence (April-June). Adults of Arcynopteryx compacta (McLachlan) (Perlodidae) are present from May to August, and growth of nymphs is rapid during summer and fall. Isoperla petersoni Needham ∓ Christenson (Perlodidae) adults are present from June to mid-August, and nymphal growth is interrupted by winter and resumes in the spring; the three other univoltine species studied tend to complete growth before the onset of winter. Growth of these six species is tied to seasonal temperature variation. Stewart,KW and Oswood,MW 2006 The Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of Alaska and Western Canada. In The Caddis Press, Columbus, Ohio. vi. + 325. Stewart,KW and Ricker,WE 1997 The stoneflies of the Yukon. pgs 201-222 in Danks,HV and Downes,JA (Eds.), Insects of the Yukon. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), Ottawa. 1034 pp. Quote about the genus Plumiperla from page 213: "Transberingian; P. spinosa is endemic to California; P. diversa is widespread from Alaska and Yukon to California and New Mexico, and occurs in streams of Kamchatka Peninsula (Levanidova 1982). Adults are light yellow with no head markings, 6-8 mm. They emerge from May in the southern Rocky Mountains to as late as September in Alaska (Stewart et al. 1990) and Yukon. Nymphs occur in springs and streams of all sizes, and the life cycle in northern latitudes appears to be univoltine, fast." Stewart,KW and Stark,BP 2002 Nymphs of North American Stonefly Genera. 2nd edition The Caddis Press, Columbus, Ohio. 510 pages. Illustrations of nymph on pages 270-271, figures 11.13-11.14 Surdick,RF 1985 Nearctic Genera of Chloroperlinae (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae). University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL. 146 pages. Zuellig,RE; Heinold,BD; Kondratieff,BC and Ruiter,DE 2012 Diversity and Distribution of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Stoneflies (Plecoptera), and Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the South Platte River Basin, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, 1873-2010. U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 606, 257 p. PDF - caution 46MB Quote from page 42: "A common Western North American species usually restricted to small, higher elevation streams (Kondratieff and Baumann, 2002)." The elevation range is 6,300-10,850 feet and the adults emerge from July-August. Zwick,P 1973 Insecta: Plecoptera Phylogenetisches System und Katalog. Das Tierreich - Eine Zusammenstellung und Kennzeichnung der rezenten Tierformen., 94, 465 pp. |