Lamoille River
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 Lamoille River | |
|---|---|
| Stream code: | LR_CooBrk_827 |
| Basin: | Lamoille River |
| State or Province: | Vermont |
| Country: | USA |
| Latitude: | 44.50841 |
| Longitude: | -72.37104 |
| School: | Hazen Union High School |
The following are the most common invertebrates collected from this stream site.
Contents
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.
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.
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.
Hansonoperla
- Order
- Plecoptera
- Family
- Perlidae
- Genus
- Hansonoperla
The occiput of this stonefly has no ridge or line of spinules, and the postocular consists of a few thin setae rather than several thick setae. The pronotum has only a few thin setae at the corners, which may be faint and difficult to see. Also, the eyes are set rather far forward on the head , making it quite distinctive from other genera we normally find. The stout abdomen and overall body shape of Hansonoperla closely resembles that of the family Chloroperlidae, but don't let the resemblance fool you- Hansonoperla is a perlid and therefore has gills on its thoracic segments; Chloroperlidae does not.
Images of the occiput, the postocular fringe, the pronotum, and the head.
More information on Chloroperlidae.
Oligochaeta
- Common name
- aquatic earthworms; black worms
Aquatic earthworms lack legs and are characterized by having 20 or more segments. Unlike leeches, they lack a suction disk. We collect members of two or more orders in this class as small numbers of stream sites and they are rarely numerous. They are more common at pond and lake sites.
Image of the 20 or more segments.
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.
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.
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.
Agnetina
- Order
- Plecoptera
- Family
- Perlidae
- Genus
- Agnetina
Agnetina nymphs have cylindrical, striped abdomens. Like other Plecoptera, they have 2 tails and 2 claws on each tarsus. This genus has three black dots (ocelli) on the top of the head. Click to see the three ocelli on the dorsum of the head (3 black dots at joint with the pronotum). This stonefly is characterized by the filamentous gills located in the "armpits". Another important feature is the paraglossae and glossae extending different lengths. The occiput has a transverse row of evenly spaced little hairs. Agnetina has another row of evenly spaced hairs on the posterior edge of abdominal segment 7.
Heptageniidae
- Order
- Ephemeroptera
- Family
- Heptageniidae
- Common name
- flatheaded mayfly
- Tied fly
- Light Cahill, Wingless Pale Evening Dun
This family of mayflies can be characterized by their distinctly flattened heads and striking resemblance of the character 'Jack Skellington' from the movie 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' This family can either have two or three cerci (tails).
Commonly encountered genera include:
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.
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.
Antocha
- Order
- Diptera
- Family
- Tipulidae
- Genus
- Antocha
This small dipteran in the cranefly family is quite common. It is distinguished from most other dipterans we found by the 'creeping welts' that appear as prominent dark stripes along the abdomen. The dark head is usually partly exposed; however, it can be pulled back into the thoracic cavity during preservation.
Optioservus
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- 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.
Leuctra
- Order
- Plecoptera
- Family
- Leuctridae
- Genus
- Leuctra
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. Leuctra are recognized by abdominal terga with posterior fringes of short hairs and last few segments with longer hairs.
Image of the divergent wing pads.
