Stoneflies - Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoSuwallia pallidula - Yellow SallflyBanks 1904Updated 5 January 2026
TSN 103256 Life HistoryDewalt and Stewart (1995) found that July is peak emergence for females. Only two male nymphs were collected in 3 years in the Rio Conejes river in southern Colorado. Extended emergers, adults were present in July and August. Kondratieff and Baumann (2002) note emergence is from late June to August for the state of Colorado.Locations CollectedKondratieff and Baumann (2002) note this may be the most common Suwallia in Colorado. Abundant in the middle and higher elevations of the mountains of Colorado.NotesOlder publications may refer to this species as Chloroperla pallidula.Good LinksOn this website:Introduction to Suwallia Other Websites: Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Suwallia pallidula at Gbif Photos, Map, Museums, DNA - Barcode of Life Data System Photos - from Troutnut.com Plecoptera Species File Suwallia pallidula ReferencesAlexander,KD and Stewart,KW 1997a Furthur considerations of mate searching behavior and communication in adult stoneflies (Plecoptera); first report of tremulation in Suwallia (Chloroperlidae). In: Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera: Biology-Ecology-Systematics. Eds: Landolt,P; Sartori,M MTL, Fribourg, 107-112.Alexander,KD and Stewart,KW 1997b The importance of aedeagal characters in species delineation and revision of the stonefly tribe Suwalliini Surdick (Chloroperlidae). In: Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera: Biology-Ecology-Systematics. Eds: Landolt,P; Sartori,M MTL, Fribourg, 484-488. Alexander,KD and Stewart,KW 1999 Revision of the genus Suwallia Ricker (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae). Transactions of American Entomological Society 125 (3) 185-250. Banks,N 1904 Neuropteroid insects from New Mexico. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 30:97-110. Described as Chloroperla pallidula  
Baumann,RW, Gaufin,AR and Surdick,RF 1977 The stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Rocky Mountains. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 31, 1-208. PDF Quote from page 174: "This species is perhaps the most common and widespread member of the family in the Rocky Mountains. The adults emerge from May to October. " DeWalt,RE; Hopkins,H; Neu-Becker,U and Stueber,G 2024 Suwallia pallidula (Banks, 1904). Plecoptera Species File. Retrieved on 2024-01-13 at https://plecoptera.speciesfile.org/otus/894269/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." Heinold,B 2010 The mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the South Platte River Basin of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. M.S. Thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 375 pages. 148 distribution maps. PDF Houston,DD; Satler,JD; Stack,TK; Carroll,HM; Bevan,AM; Moya,AL and Alexander,KD 2022 A phylogenomic perspective on the evolutionary history of the stonefly genus Suwallia (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) revealed by ultraconserved genomic elements. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 166, p.107320. PDF Abstract: "Evolutionary biologists have long sought to disentangle phylogenetic relationships among taxa spanning the tree of life, an increasingly important task as anthropogenic influences accelerate population declines and species extinctions, particularly in insects. Phylogenetic analyses are commonly used to identify unique evolutionary lineages, to clarify taxonomic designations of the focal taxa, and to inform conservation decisions. Advances in DNA sequencing techniques have increasingly facilitated the ability of researchers to apply genomic methods to phylogenetic analyses, even for non-model organisms. Stoneflies are non-model insects that are important bioindicators of the quality of freshwater habitats and landscape disturbance as they spend the immature stages of their life cycles in fresh water, and the adult stages in terrestrial environments. Phylogenetic relationships within the stonefly genus Suwallia (Insecta: Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) are poorly understood, and have never been assessed using molecular data. We used DNA sequence data from genome-wide ultraconserved element loci to generate the first molecular phylogeny for the group and assess its monophyly. We found that Palearctic and Nearctic Suwallia do not form reciprocally monophyletic clades, and that a biogeographic history including dispersal, vicariance, and founder event speciation via jump dispersal best explains the geographic distribution of this group. Our results also strongly suggest that Neaviperla forcipata (Neave, 1929) is nested within Suwallia, and the concept of the genus Suwallia should be revised to include it. Thus, we formally propose a new taxonomic combination wherein Neaviperla forcipata (Neave, 1929) is reclassified as Suwallia forcipata (Neave, 1929). Moreover, some Suwallia species (e.g., S. amoenacolens, S. kerzhneri, S. marginata, S. pallidula, and S. starki) exhibit pronounced cryptic diversity that is worthy of further investigation. These findings provide a first glimpse into the evolutionary history of Suwallia, improve our understanding of stonefly diversity in the tribe Suwallini, and highlight areas where additional research is needed." 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. Quote from page 393 "According to the literature, this species may be the most common Suwallia in Colorado, often abundant in middle and higher elevation streams of the Mountain and Plateau regions. Consult Alexander and Stewart (1998) to distinguish adults from the sympatric S. starki. Emergence is generally from late June through August." Malison,RL; Ellis,BK; DelVecchia,AG; Jacobson,H; Hand,BK; Luikart,G; Woods,HA; Gamboa,M; Watanabe,K and Stanford,JA 2020 Remarkable anoxia tolerance by stoneflies from a floodplain aquifer. Ecology, 101(10), p.e03127. PDF Abstract: "Alluvial aquifers are key components of river floodplains and biodiversity worldwide, but they contain extreme environmental conditions and have limited sources of carbon for sustaining food webs. Despite this, they support abundant populations of aquifer stoneflies that have large proportions of their biomass carbon derived from methane. Methane is typically produced in freshwater ecosystems in anoxic conditions, while stoneflies (Order: Plecoptera) are thought to require highly oxygenated water. The potential importance of methane-derived food resources raises the possibility that stonefly consumers have evolved anoxia-resistant behaviors and physiologies. Here we tested the anoxic and hypoxic responses of 2,445 stonefly individuals in three aquifer species and nine benthic species. We conducted experimental trials in which we reduced oxygen levels, documented locomotor activity, and measured survival rates. Compared to surface-dwelling benthic relatives, stoneflies from the alluvial aquifer on the Flathead River (Montana) performed better in hypoxic and anoxic conditions. Aquifer species sustained the ability to walk after 4-76 h of anoxia vs. 1 h for benthic species and survived on average three times longer than their benthic counterparts. Aquifer stoneflies also sustained aerobic respiration down to much lower levels of ambient oxygen. We show that aquifer taxa have gene sequences for hemocyanin, an oxygen transport respiratory protein, representing a possible mechanism for surviving low oxygen. This remarkable ability to perform well in low-oxygen conditions is unique within the entire order of stoneflies (Plecoptera) and uncommon in other freshwater invertebrates. These results show that aquifer stoneflies can exploit rich carbon resources available in anoxic zones, which may explain their extraordinarily high abundance in gravel-bed floodplain aquifers. These stoneflies are part of a novel food web contributing biodiversity to river floodplains." Newell,RL; Baumann,RW and Stanford,JA 2008 Stoneflies of Glacier National Park and Flathead River basin, Montana. International Advances in the ecology, zoogeography, and systematics of mayflies and stoneflies. University of California Publications in Entomology, Berkeley and Los Angeles, pp.173-186. The authors note that S. pallidula was the 3rd most frequently recorded species out of the 100 different stonefly taxa they collected in their survey of Glacier National park and the Flathead basin in northwestern Montana. South,EJ; Skinner,RK; DeWalt,RE; Kondratieff,BC; Johnson,KP; Davis,MA; Lee,JJ and Durfee,RS 2021 Phylogenomics of the north American Plecoptera. Systematic Entomology, 46(1), pp.287-305. HTML 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 S. pallidula specimen was used in phylogenetic analyses. 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 278-279, figures 11.19-11.20 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 43: "This may be the most common species of Suwallia associated with medium-sized streams in Colorado and apparently is more tolerant of warmer water than other Suwallia species (Alexander and Stewart, 1999; Kondratieff and Baumann, 2002)." The elevation range is 5,750-10,750 feet and the adults emerge from July-October. Zwick,P 1973 Insecta: Plecoptera Phylogenetisches System und Katalog. Das Tierreich - Eine Zusammenstellung und Kennzeichnung der rezenten Tierformen., 94, 465 pp.
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