Small winter stonefly Capniidae |
There were at least two different kinds climbing all over the yard, the picnic table, and the house.
Winter stonefly Taeniopterygidae |
Of course, there is more to the life of a winter snowfly than running around on the snow. These guys are freshly "hatched" from their aquatic larvae. They were formerly a part of the benthos and occasionally they went driftin'. Since they hatched, it means they survived the Driftin' Diner. I should clarify that the stonefly nymphs were part of the benthic drift I posted about, but the stonefly adults were riding rafts or climbing on shore. These nymphs hatch after climbing out of the water, as compared to some other insects like midges and mayflies, that hatch on the water.
Winter stonefly nymph |
When their shredding days are accomplished the nymphs are ready to be delivered from the benthos.
Stonefly nymph exoskeleton |
Then comes my favorite part.
I'm thinking about a satellite unfurling its solar panels once it reaches orbit.
Just think
of the engineering
and "computer programming"
necessary to perform this unfurling of wings.
Small but sophisticated.
- I'll reiterate that this is a handy book. Aquatic Entomology: The Fishermen's Guide and Ecologists' Illustrated Guide to Insects and Their Relatives
- A blog post about supercool winter stoneflies.
Marvellous images, Dana.
ReplyDelete