Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies (Megaloptera) » Alderflies (Sialidae)

Family Sialidae - Alderflies

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Alderfly - Sialis Alderfly - Sialis unknown insect - Sialis Insect - Sialis What am I - Sialis Alderfly? - Sialis Nearctic Alderfly with eggs - Sialis Nearctic Alderfly with eggs - Sialis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Megaloptera (Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies)
Family Sialidae (Alderflies)
Explanation of Names
From genus Sialis, which see.
Numbers
Arnett, p. 344 (1) lists one genus, Sialis.
Size
Small to medium-sized, typically 10-25 mm
Identification
Medium-sized insects with soft bodies and large, delicate wings. Adults (imagos) usually found near aquatic habitats of their larvae. Similar to fishflies, Corydalidae, usually smaller. These characters differentiate:
Wings folded roof-like over back at rest
Lack ocelli (simple eyes)
Fourth tarsal segment widened, has two lobes

Wing venation of an alderfly, Sialis (the sole genus in North America):
  
Life Cycle
Larvae are aquatic:
  
Adults found, briefly, on vegetation near the aquatic habitats.
See Also
Cordyalidae - Fishflies and Dobsonflies (related, in the Megaloptera)
Plecoptera - Stoneflies--superficially similar, but unrelated
Print References
Arnett, p. 344 (1)
Castner, p. 110 (2)
Borror and White (3)
Internet References
Insects of Cedar Creek
Works Cited
1.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
By Ross H. Arnett
2.Photographic Atlas of Entomology and Guide To Insect Identification
By James L. Castner
3.A Field Guide to Insects
By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis
Last updated 2 July, 2009 - 10:38am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact