Gold Brook

Vermont EPSCoR's Streams Project; A Teacher Collaboration on WikiEducator

Openly shared content, practices, and developing resources from Vermont EPSCoR's Streams Project. Join this collaboration and make a difference!

Home | Discussion |  Add Your Stream  |  Project Tools  |  Pond and Lake Pages  |  Stream Pages |  Pending tasks  | 

Gold Brook
Stream code:	WR_GoldBrk_952
Basin:	Winooski River
State or Province:	Vermont
Country:	USA
Latitude:	44.445258
Longitude:	-72.667987
School:	Stowe High School

The following are the most common invertebrates collected from this stream site.

Chironomidae

Order

Diptera

Family

Chironomidae

Common name

Nonbiting midge

Tied fly

Griffith's Gnat

Midge larvae tend to be the most common macroinvertebrate at our sites. As with other Diptera, there are no true jointed legs. Chironomidae do have a pair of prolegs at each end and preserved individuals tend to curl into a 'C'. Identification past family requires slide-mounted heads. We have seen philopotamid caddisflies misidentified with the chironomids and we suspect that that happens when samples are being sorted from trays. Under a microscope, six prominent legs can be seen on members of the caddisfly family Philopotamidae.

More information on Philopotamidae.

Baetis

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Baetidae

Genus

Baetis

Common name

The Little Olive

Tied fly

Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph

This mayfly has three "tails" and a unique head shape. Its gills are oval shaped and insert dorsally. More mature nymphs have long, dark wing pads.

Image of the long, dark wing pads.

Epeorus

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Heptageniidae

Genus

Epeorus

Common name

The Quill Gordon

Tied fly

Quill Gordon

This is the only Heptageniidae genus present in this area with two tails!

Dolophilodes

Order

Trichoptera

Family

Philopotamidae

Genus

Dolophilodes

Dolophilodes stands out in the Philopotamidae family due to its slightly asymmetrical frontoclypeus on the anterior margin and its distinguishable projecting foretrochantin.

Images of the slightly asymmetrical frontoclypeus, and the projecting foretrochantin.

Chloroperlidae

Order

Plecoptera

Family

Chloroperlidae

Common name

The Yellow Sally

Tied fly

Yellow Sally

Stoneflies from the family Chloroperlidae have cylindrical banded abdomens. When observing their mouthparts, the glossae and paraglossae form a three-pronged (open) notch, and their hind wing pads are parallel (not divergent). Cerci have a vertical fringe of hairs pointing away from the abdomen. Setae on the pronotum are found primarily at the corners.

Drunella

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Ephemerellidae

Genus

Drunella

Tied fly

Bluewinged Olive Dun

The mayfly Drunella is distinguished by its large femoral “biceps;” these femora have tubercles on the leading margins. Gills are present on segments 3-7.

Simuliidae

Order

Diptera

Family

Simuliidae

Simuliidae appear rather like bowling pins with heads. Relatively speaking, we collect few members of this family and have we have not identified them past family at this point.

Click here for a close up image of the heads.

Athericidae

Order

Diptera

Family

Athericidae

Common name

water snipe flies

Members of the family Athericidae have wrinkled bodies with prolegs on the ventral side. Their mandibles- which can be seen by carefully cutting the head open- move parallel to each other. On the end of their abdomen there are two lobes fringed with setae. Our collections include just the single genus Atherix.

Image of the two lobes of the abdomen.

Rhyacophila

Order

Trichoptera

Family

Rhyacophilidae

Genus

Rhyacophila

Common name

Green Caddis

Tied fly

Henryville Special or Glass Bead Caddis

In our lab, Rhyacophila is known as the "Michelin Man" due to its large banded body. It has a very obviously checker-patterned head. It also has terrifying anal claws with large accessory hooks.

Links to images that may be useful if you have a magnifying glass or microscope: Checker-patterned head. Anal claws with large accessory hooks.

Leptophlebiidae

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Leptophlebiidae

Common name

pronggill mayfly

Leptophlebiidae are characterized by a somewhat flattened body and forked elongate gills. Commonly found genera include Habrophlebia and Paraleptophlebia.

Image of the forked elongate gills.

Hydropsychidae

Order

Trichoptera (caddisfly)

Family

Hydropsychidae

Common name

net spinning caddisfly

Tied fly

Emergent Sparkle Pupa, Vermont Hare's Ear

This family of net-spinning caddisflies is very abundant at several sites. They are important filtering collectors and are quite common at urban and agricultural sites where particles of organic material can be important food resources. Genus-level identification is possible for mature specimens and we will include the genera we found at your site if possible.

When using the key, some features that are challenging to see are the forked trochantin and the paired sclerites in the folds between segments. Other, more easily seen key features include filamentous gills on the abdominal segments and the sclerotization of the dorsal surfaces of all three thoracic segments. Keep in mind that with smaller or more immature specimens, genus-level ID may not be possible.

Commonly found genera include Cheumatopsyche, Ceratopsyche, and Hydropsyche. Less commonly, we have found Arctopsyche and Potamyia.

Images of the forked trochantin and the paired sclerites.

Pteronarcys

Order

Plecoptera

Family

Pteronarcyidae

Genus

Pteronarcys

Common name

The Giant Stonefly

Tied fly

Kaufmann's Black Stone

Pteronarcyidae have branching gills from the bases of their legs as does Perlidae. What distinguishes Pteronarcyidae from Perlidae is the presence of gills on the first two abdominal segments. There are only two genera in this family, but the other, Pteronarcella, is only found in the west/southwest.

Click to see an example of Perlidae or the gills on the first two abdominal segments.

Ephemerella

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Ephemerellidae

Genus

Ephemerella

Common name

The Hendrickson; The Red Quill; The Hendrickson Spinner Fall

Tied fly

Hendrickson; Flick's Red Quill; Lunn's Particular

Mayflies in this genus have long intersegmental setae on their cerci that extend laterally and may or may not have whorls of spines at the end of each segment of their cerci. Their maxillary palps are well-developed.

Image of the intersegmental setae.

Glossosomatidae

Order

Trichoptera

Family

Glossosomatidae

Common name

saddlecase caddisfly

Larvae in this family build domed cases made of small rocks, and are often wider at segment 5. The pronotum is covered in dark, sclerotized plates, but there are either no sclerites on the mesonotum, or the mesonotum is unsclerotized with the exception of a few patches. The anal proleg is broadly joined to segment 9; the anal claw has one or more accessory hooks. The pronotal excision is small (approximately 1/3 anterolaterally) to accommodate the coxae.

Commonly encountered genera include Glossosoma and Agapetus.

Rhithrogena

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Heptageniidae

Genus

Rhithrogena

Tied fly

Dark Blue Upright

This three-tailed genus of mayfly has whitish gills that appear fluffy; some species have bright red gills when alive. The gills on abdominal segments 1 and 7 are larger than the others and almost meet underneath the abdomen.

Click to view picture of the gills

Amphinemura

Order

Plecoptera

Family

Nemouridae

Genus

Amphinemura

We rarely encounter this stonefly genus.

Optioservus

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Elmidae

Genus

Optioservus

The larvae of Optioservus have open coxae, as determined by the straight definition between segments on the ventral side of the pronotum.

The adult Optioservus have a compact appearance, especially the head and thorax. There are also dorsal ridges and a characteristic diamond-shaped sutellum observable in the dorsal view.

Images of the straight definition between segments, the dorsal ridgesand the diamond-shaped scutellum.

Hexatoma

Order

Diptera

Family

Tipulidae

Genus

Hexatoma

This Tipulidae can be identified by the swollen 7th abdominal segment. The swelling is bulbous and frequently as much as 2X abdominal diameter in preserved specimens.

Lepidostomatidae

Order

Trichoptera

Family

Lepidostomatidae

Common name

The Little Plain Brown Sedge

Tied fly

Elk Hair Caddis

These have lateral humps on the first abdominal segments, but lack a dorsal hump. The dorsal of the first two thoracic segments are sclerotized. They are frequently found in four-sided cases made of square pieces of detritus.

Images of the first two thoracic segments and the four-sided cases.

Gomphidae

Order

Odonata

Family

Gomphidae

Common name

clubtail dragonflies

Like other Odonata, members of this family have four wingpads. Like members of the sub-order Anisoptera, the abdomen terminates in five points. What distinguishes Gomphidae from Aeshnidae is the fact that Gomphidae has clubbed antennae.

Image of the four wingpads and the abdomen.

More information on Aeshnidae.

Leuctridae

Order

Plecoptera

Family

Leuctridae

Common name

rolled-winged stoneflies or needle fly

Tied fly

Halford's Willow Fly

This family of stonefly is fairly slender by stonefly standards. The divergent wing pads are a helpful characteristic. Leuctridae are similar in overall shape to the Capniidae; however, Leuctridae often do not have pleural folds. If they are present, they only extend from abdominal segments 1-7. The genus Leuctra are recognized by abdominal terga with posterior fringes of short hairs and last few segments with longer hairs.

Images of the divergent wing pads, Capniidae, abdominal terga and a ventral view can be seen here.

Heptagenia

Order

Ephemeroptera

Family

Heptageniidae

Genus

Heptagenia

Tied fly

Little Graywinged Olive

Heptagenia are easily characterized by their flat head. The claws have just one basal tooth and no denticles (serrated edges). The gill on abdominal segment 7 has multiple fibrils at is base (thread-like structures) and has a single tooth on its claws but is smooth otherwise. Gills on segment 7 are similar to those on all other segments, but may be smaller in size.

Ectopria

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Psephenidae

Genus

Ectopria

False water pennies are less circular than true water pennies, and come to a blunt point at the back end. They appear to have serrated edges and lack gills.

Another genus encountered in this family is Psephenus.

Ceratopogonidae

Order

Diptera

Family

Ceratopogonidae

Common name

biting midges

Members of this family look like very straight Chironomidae. They are very long and thin with a distinct head capsule and no prolegs. Some in the lab call them 'bamboo sticks' with eyes.

Image of the distinct head capsule.

Tipulidae

Order

Diptera

Family

Tipulidae

Common name

The Crane Fly

Tied fly

Gangle Legs

Like other larvae from the order Diptera, members of the family Tipulidae (crane flies) lack legs. Tipulidae have retracted, difficult-to-see head capsules at one end, and a spiracular disk at the other end. The spiracular disk can sometimes look like a face leading to some confusion about which end is which. Upon gently cutting the head open, one can see that the mandibles are not parallel to each other, but rather move against each other.

The genera we've encountered include Antocha, Dicranota, Hexatoma, Limnophila, Molophilus, Pedecia and Tipula.