Adult: wings, when present, have reduced venation and may extend beyond tip of abdomen or be shorter than abdomen; forewing has few cross veins, and cells are elongate, of different sizes, and not arranged in rows (all characteristics of family Capniidae); in
Allocapnia, anal lobe of hindwing is nearly as long as rest of wing; many adults are wingless, especially the males, which have a dorsal process on the eighth tergite and a rod-like appendage (epiproct) that recurves over the top of the ninth abdominal segment (as shown in
this photo); identification of males to species level requires examination of abdominal features under a microscope; females are difficult to distinguish to species except by association with identified males - see PDF docs in Internet References section below
Larvae (or nymphs) of some species can be identified by examining the pattern of hairs (setae) on various body parts under a microscope
