I decided to see if the small winter stoneflies have shown up at Buck Mt. Creek and no problem, there were lots of them in the leaf packs. Above a female; below a male.
The males are smaller than the females, have smaller wingpads, and have an extension at the end of the abdomen called a "supra anal lobe".
I was a little surprised to see that the male was almost mature -- note the dark wingpads -- but it's not all that unusual. Once they show up, they mature and hatch in a short period of time.
Two other things. First a small common stonefly, Agnetina annulipes.
These nymphs are common in the Rivanna in the fall: Buck Mt. Creek is the only other stream in which I've found them.
And there was one, young, Helopicus subvarians Perlodid stonefly, still quite immature.
We find mature nymphs in April.
Sunny days in the forecast. Maybe a trip to the Rose River?
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