Infraclass Neoptera Order Stoneflies Rank Family | Scientific name Perlidae | |
Similar Stoneflies, Perlodidae, Nemouridae, Chloroperlidae, Leuctridae | ||
Common stonefly perlidae hesperoperla
The Perlidae are a family of stoneflies, with a total of 84 species in 15 genera. The majority of the Perlidae are found in eastern North America, but they occur worldwide except for Antarctica and parts of Africa. Their lifecycles range between one and three years. They adults emerge in the summer; they are very active and known to be attracted to light sources. They are usually very sensitive to changes in environment.
Contents
Perlidae are usually lotic and lentic erosional. They are found in cool, clear medium-sized to large streams and sometimes in larger, warm rivers that carry silt. They are crawlers and can move quickly. In still water, no water moves over their gills, so they move their bodies up and down to keep oxygen flowing over them.
They are engulfer-predators. They consume all types of invertebrates. Very young larvae are collector-gatherers.
Perlidae perla larve
Genera
