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


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Family Pteronarcyidae - Giant Stoneflies

Pteronarcella badia Pteronarcys - Pteronarcys dorsata Pteronarcys Insect - Pteronarcys californica Stonefly sp - Pteronarcys Old black and leathery - Pteronarcys Stonefly? - Pteronarcys Stonefly? Rear - Pteronarcys
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Plecoptera (Stoneflies)
Superfamily Pteronarcyoidea
Family Pteronarcyidae (Giant Stoneflies)
Other Common Names
Salmonflies
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
=Pteronarcidae
Numbers
2 genera, with 10 spp. in our area(1) and 12 spp. total(2)
Size
adult body length 25-60 mm
Identification
Adult: dark brown, gray, or blackish; anal area of forewing with two or more rows of cross veins (a diagnostic feature)
Nymph: branched gills on ventral side of thorax and first two abdominal segments (the abdominal gills are often visible from above)
Range
NA + most of Asia(2)
Habitat
most nymphs develop in medium to large rivers; adults are nocturnal and often come to lights
Season
adults appear in spring and early summer
Food
nymphs feed on aquatic plants, adults do not feed
See Also
some spp. of Acroneuria (Perlidae) are large (to 40 mm) and look similar but lack rows of cross veins in anal area of forewing; nymphs of Perlidae have thoracic gills but not abdominal gills