Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Small Streams -- Special Insects: A Report on Sugar Hollow


I'm keeping track of the insects I only find in the small mountain streams in Sugar Hollow.   Here are photos of the taxa I've noted so far.  (The stonefly nymph in the photo above is one that I have found in the Rapidan River as well: this is the Perlodid stonefly, Malirekus hastatus.  Still, it's a rather spectacular picture.)
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1. The flatheaded mayfly, Maccaffertium meririvulanum.


2. The freeliving caddisfly, Rhyacophila nigrita -- in cream/gray and aquamarine.



3. The freeliving caddisfly Rhyacophila glaberrima (species ID is tentative).

4. The common netspinner larva, Diplectrona modesta.


5. The fingernet caddisfly larva, genus Wormaldia.



6. The small winter stonefly, Paracapnia angulata.



7. The Perlodid stonefly Isoperla similis.


8. A Perlodid stonefly, genus Isoperla, species not yet identified by the professionals.


9. Another Perlodid stonefly, genus Isoperla, species not yet ID'd by the professionals.


10. And the giant stonefly, Pteronarcys scotti (species ID is tentative).


In addition to the Malirekus hastatus at the top of the page, there are three other taxa that I've only found in the small streams in Sugar Hollow and in the Rapidan River: the crane fly larva, genus Hexatoma, the northern case-maker caddisfly, genus Pycnopsyche, and the large winter stonefly, Taenionema atlanticum.  These.





Oh.  And I've seen Lepidostomatids in the Rapidan -- and elsewhere -- but Sugar Hollow's the place to go for beautiful "mixed media" (sand grains and leaves) cases.

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I'll be in Florida -- golf and fishing -- through next Tuesday, March 27.  I hope to post a new entry on Thursday, March 29.

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