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Stonefly Family Nemouridae (Forestflies)

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Plecoptera (Stoneflies)

» Family Nemouridae (Forestflies)

Genus in Nemouridae
AmphinemuraTiny Winter Blacks	0	0
MalenkaTiny Winter Blacks	0	0
ProstoiaTiny Winter Blacks	0	0
ZapadaTiny Winter Blacks	0	0

8 genera aren't included.

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Forestflies
	Tiny Winter Blacks

Pictures Below ↓

Where & When

Time Of Year (?): Late winter to mid-spring

Pictures of 6 Stonefly Specimens in the Family Nemouridae:

Specimen Page:12

Prostoia (Tiny Winter Blacks) Stonefly Nymph

View 6 Pictures

Collected March 29, 2005 from Salmon Creek in New York
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on April 7, 2006

Female Amphinemura (Tiny Winter Blacks) Stonefly Adult

View 5 PicturesA few of these tiny stoneflies were among the only species of aquatic insect adults in the air on this particular afternoon, with most of the action coming from a species of Epeorus mayfly. I somehow forgot to photograph this one on the usual ruler, but I recall it was very, very small, with an abdomen no more than 1mm in girth and the body, not counting the wings, probably just 5-7mm long.

Collected September 6, 2006 from Mystery Creek #23 in New York
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on October 3, 2006

Male Malenka tina (Tiny Winter Black) Stonefly Adult

View 7 PicturesThis is the smallest stonefly I've ever collected, with a body only 5.5 mm long.

Although not in-focus in my pictures, its first tarsal segment is similar in length to the third, while the second is much shorter. This helps with family-level identification.

Examining this specimen under a microscope shows a membranous lobe on the dorsal (Dorsal: Top.) base of the cerci (Cercus: The left and right "tails" of an insect are known as the cerci or caudal cerci. The middle tail of a three-tailed insect is not.), which is the key characteristic in Merritt & Cummins (4th ed.) to place the genus definitively as Malenka.

Following the species key in Jewett Jr's Stoneflies of the Pacific Northwest, the species appears to be Malenka tina. My dissecting microscope seems to show sternite (

One sternite of this Isonychia bicolor mayfly spinner is highlighted in red.

Sternite: The bottom (ventral) part of a single segment on an insect's abdomen.) 9 ending in a rounded knob, which distinguishes it from Malenka bifurcata, but the detail is hard to work out.

Also worth noting is that Montana appears to have this species, whereas birfucata is not know there: http://fieldguide.mt.gov/displaySpecies.aspx?family=Nemouridae

Collected July 1, 2019 from the Madison River in Montana
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 18, 2019

Specimen Page:12

Recent Discussions of Nemouridae

deligon 2 Replies »

Posted by Deligon on Jan 15, 2010

Last reply on Jan 22, 2010 by Martinlf

FISHED THE HIWASSEE RIVER IN TENN , TODAY JAN 15 2010 WEATHER HIGH 50,S
AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF TEMPS IN THE TEENS, EXPECTED MIDGE HATCH,
WE HAVE A SHAD KILL WHICH I WANTED TO FISH STREAMERS HOPING TO TAG A BIG BROWN. BUT THE WINTER STONEFLY HATCH TOOK THE SHOW. DRY FLY FISHING IN JAN. WHAT IS THE LIFE CYCLE OF THESE FLIES? CAN THEY TOLERATE THE COLD NIGHT TEMPS? DO THEY EAT AND DRINK? WHOW DO THEY MATE?
THE MORE I LEARN THE MORE I DISCOVER I DON'T KNOW

DELIGON

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Jargon Defined:

Abdomen: The rear and usually the longest (ten-segmented in mayflies) portion of an insect's body, to which the tails are attached.

Cerci: The left and right "tails" of an insect are known as the cerci or caudal cerci. The middle tail of a three-tailed insect is not.

Dorsal: Top.

One sternite of this Isonychia bicolor mayfly spinner is highlighted in red.

Sternite: The bottom (ventral) part of a single segment on an insect's abdomen.

Useful References:

Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.