Triznaka signata (Plecoptera) of Gunnison County, Colorado

Stoneflies - Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae of Gunnison County, Colorado

Triznaka signata - Striped Sallfly

Banks 1895

Updated 6 January 2026
TSN 103310

Notes

Older publications may refer to this species as Chloroperla signata.

Good Links

On this website:
Chloroperlidae Introduction

Other Websites:
Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Triznaka signata at Gbif

Photos, Map, Museum specimens, DNA - Barcodinglife.org

Plecoptera Species File Triznaka signata

References

Banks, N 1895 New Neuropterid Insects. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 22: 313-316. PDF
     Described as Chloroperla signata.
Chloroperla signata nov. sp.?Length 7.5 mm. Yellow, head slightly broader than prothorax, pale yellow, a black triangular spot connecting the ocelli, another smaller triangular spot below with its apex nearly touching the apex of the upper spot ; palpi brownish. Antenna? yellowish ; prothorax short, elliptical, pale yellow, with a prominent black median stripe, which is slightly broader behind, and on the front margin twice as broad as in the middle, sides slightly rugulose; meso- and metathorax with an indistinct, median, brown stripe. Legs pale yellowish, tibia? more brownish. Abdomen yellowish, apex broken. Wings yellowish hyaline, veins in fore wings, except subcosta and most of radius, brown; transversals at end of discal cells widely separated, upper fork of radial sector hardly one and one-half times as long as the pedicel beyond the outer transversal, four transversals between cubiti; some of the veins of posterior wings brownish at tips.
One specimen, Ft. Collins, Colo. (C. P. Gillette)

Baumann,RW and Kondratieff,BC 2008 A review of the western North American genus Triznaka (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) with a new species from the Great Basin, U.S.A. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 110(2), 345-362.
     Abstract: "The Nearctic genus Triznaka is reviewed with T. sheldoni, n. sp. described from White Pine County, Nevada, U.S.A. The new species is compared to T. pintada and T. signata. The distinctive armature of the aedeagus and color of the pronotum distinguish the male, while the emarginate to notched subgenital plate and color pattern of the pronotum distinguish the female. The new species is primarily restricted to the Great Basin biogeographic region."

DeWalt,RE; Hopkins,H; Neu-Becker,U and Stueber,G 2024 Triznaka signata (Banks, 1895). Plecoptera Species File. Retrieved on 2024-01-13 at https://plecoptera.speciesfile.org/otus/894241/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/ :-)

Frison,TH 1935 New North American species of the genus Alloperla (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 61:331-344.

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."

Hassage,RL and Stewart,KW 1990 Growth and voltinism of five stonefly species in a New Mexico mountain stream. The Southwestern Naturalist, 35 (2)130-134.
     Abstract: "The nymphal growth and emergence of five stonefly species were determined by intensive sampling of leaf packs and mineral substrate in a riffle of a mountain stream in northern New Mexico. Isoperla fulva (n = 781) and Triznaka signata (n = 421) had late summer recruitment and slow univoltine life cycles, while nymphs of Prostoia besametsa (n = 2,009) were recruited in late fall and had a fast univoltine life cycle. Nymphs of Skwala parallela were apparently recruited in early summer or spring and were also univoltine. Classenia sabulosa had a semivoltine life cycle with nymphs recruited in late summer and early fall. Although they were of similar size at summer recruitment, nymphs of T. signata were generally smaller than those of I. fulva in fall and winter. Nymphs of P. besametsa grew rapidly during the coldest part of the year, achieving size equivalence with T. signata in December and February. The greatest nymphal growth rate was displayed by S. parallela; nymphs of this species reached 3.5 mm in head capsule width (HCW) by the end of the fall. Growth of C. sabulosa (which ultimately reaches 4-5 mm HCW) was much slower; this species required more than a single year of growth. Adult P. besametsa were first collected in April (n = 130) when they were most abundant; a few were also collected in May (n = 4) and June (n = 1). Skwala parallela adults (n = 13) were only collected in April. Adults of I. fulva (n = 37) were collected only during June, while those of T. signata were abundant in June (n = 22) and July (n = 33) with a single individual collected in August."

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

Illies,J 1966 Katalog der rezenten Plecoptera. Das Tierreich - Eine Zusammenstellung und Kennzeichnung der rezenten Tierformen. (Das Tierreich) 82:435

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 394: "A common species of larger streams and rivers throughout the Mountain and Plateau regions, especially the upper portions of the South Platte, Colorado and Gunnisan River drainnages. "

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 Triznaka signata and a number of other species. Quote from page 534: "
I.2.2.10. Chloroperlidae (Chloroperlinae): Alloperla usa Ricker, 1952
I.2.2.11. Chloroperlidae (Chloroperlinae): Suwallia starki Alexader and Stewart, 1999
I.2.2.12. Chloroperlidae (Chloroperlinae): Triznaka signata (Banks 1935)
Tarsus and pretarsus of representatives of these three genera are closely similar to those of Sweltsa lamba shown in Figure 36, except that the euplantulae, like those of Paraperla frontalis described above, have a smooth surface profile."

Nelson,SM and Roline,RA 1999 Relationships between metals and hyporheic invertebrate community structure in a river recovering from metals contamination. Hydrobiologia 397, 211-226. Abstract

Poff,NL and Ward,JV 1991 Drift responses of benthic invertebrates to experimental streamflow variation in a hydrologically stable stream. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 48(10): 1926-1936.
     Abstract: Field experiments were conducted in the regulated upper Colorado River to assess drift responses of lotic macroinvertebrates to streamflow manipulations. In each of three seasons, drift was collected in one control and two experimental riffles. On the first day, no flow manipulations occurred. Six hours before sunset on the second day, streamflow was simultaneously reduced and elevated in two experimental riffles with instream diversion structures. Following flow elevation, both mean daily drift density and drift rate generally increased for 13 taxa across all seasons. Flow reductions generally induced elevated drift densities for most taxa, but drift rates declined for some taxa. Patterns of diel drift periodicity were less frequently modified by flow manipulations. Taxa with typical nocturnal peaks in drift activity (Baetis spp., Epeorus longimanus, Triznaka signata) generally maintained this pattern despite some increases in diurnal drift. For a few taxa, modification of diel drift patterns occurred, either as nocturnal decreases following reduced flow (Paraleptophlebia heteronea, Ephemerella infrequens) or as diurnal drift increases in response to either elevated flow (Lepidostoma ormeam, Chironomidae larvae) or reduced flow (Simuliidae). With some exceptions, observed drift responses could be used to suggest active versus passive processes of drift entry.

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 T. signata specimen was used in the phylogenetic analyses.

Stewart,KW; Dewalt,RE and Oswood,MW 1991 Alaskaperla, a new stonefly genus (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae), and further descriptions of related Chloroperlidae. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 84(3), pp.239-247.
     Abstract: "Chloroperla ovibovis Ricker is removed from Chloroperla and placed in a new monotypic genus Alaskaperla, and first descriptions of its eggs and nymphs are provided. Vein A2 of the forewing is unbranched, unlike all other North American Chloroperlinae genera except Haploperla, and the delicate, paired aedeagal rods separate A. ovibovis from European Chloroperla sensu Zwick (1967), which have complex, blade-like rods, and from Triznaka, which have no rods. The elongate, tongue-like epiproct and aedeagus are distinctive among Chloroperlinae. Females have a broadly rounded subgenital plate, produced over two-thirds of sternum 9. Nymphs have a distinctive head pattern, a double row of barbed bristles on the mandibles, a single row of paired lacinial bristles and are described in conformance to Stewart & Stark (1988). The ovate eggs average 250 by 190 µm, have shallow hexagonal follicular cell impressions and rounded pits over the chorion surface and have greater development of the collar than other described Chloroperlinae. First SEMs of adult characters are presented for the type species of Chloroperla, selected Haploperla, Rasvena, Triznaka, Siphonoperla, and Suwallia species, and the eggs of Triznaka signata."

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 Stark,BP 2002 Nymphs of North American Stonefly Genera. 2nd edition The Caddis Press, Columbus, Ohio. 510 pages. Photo of live nymph from above on page 105 figure 6.9.

Ricker,WE 1992 Origin of stonefly names proposed by Ricker and collaborators. Perla, 18(1) 12 pages. PDF
      Quote from page 11: "Triznaka Ricker 1952 (as sg. of Alloperla). Russian tri = three, znak = mark. Refers to the three black lines on the metathorax. "

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 46: "This species (T. signata) typically inhabits larger streams than T. pintada, but in Colorado they occasionally co-occur in the same habitat (Baumann and Kondratieff, 2008b)." The elevation range is 4,950-9,200 feet and the adults emerge from May-August.

Brown, WS 2004 Plecoptera or Stoneflies of Gunnison County, Colorado
www.gunnisoninsects.org