Ephemeroptera: Baetidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoAcentrella turbida(McDunnough) 1924Updated 27 May 2025
TSN 568574 
NotesAdults were identified from sticky trap samples above the East River near the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab. Larvae have been found in Coal Creek, East River and West Brush Creek so far. Notice the barely visible fringe of setae on the legs of the animal to the right. That feature, a lack of a "thumb" on the labial palp, two tails and a lack of hind wing pads distinguishes A. turbida from the other Baetidae in the county. Black wing pad nymphs were common in streams in the northern Gunnison Basin in September and October of 2008.Good LinksOn this website:Introduction to Acentrella Key to Baetidae Nymphs Other websites: Photos, Map, Museums, DNA - Barcode of Life Data System North American distribution map - flyfishingentomology.com ReferencesBanks, N. 1924 Descriptions of new neuropteroid insects. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 65(12):419-455, pl. 1-4.Banks described several species that were later combined into Acentrella turbida. They were: Acentrella carolina, Cloeon carolina and Pseudocloeon carolina. Heinold,B 2010 The mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the South Platte River Basin of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. M.S. Thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 375 pages. 148 distribution maps. PDF Remarks about A. turbida from page 32: " This widespread North American species usually occurs as local populations in the SPRB. McCafferty et al. (1994) described the larvae and discussed biology of A. turbida. Acentrella turbida apparently prefers higher water quality and higher elevations than A. insignificans but can co-occur with A. insignificans at the same site such as mid-elevation reaches along South Boulder Creek. Specimens were collected at elevations between 1577 m and 2763 m. " Lugo-Ortiz,CR; McCafferty,WP 1998 A new North American genus of Baetidae (Ephemeroptera) and key to Baetis complex genera. Entomological News 109 5, 345-353. Abstract Paeg 351 has illustrations of the labium and right foreleg. The labal palp lacks a thumb (Baetis have the thumb) and the foreleg has a row of long fine setae. McCafferty,WP and Provonsha, AV The Mayflies of North AmericaSpecies List (Version 12Jan2009) Here is the geographic range and synonyms: Acentrella turbida (McDunnough), 1924 [CAN:NE,NW;USA:FN,NE,NW,SE,SW]
* Acentrella carolina (Banks), 1924 (syn.)
* Cloeon carolina Banks, 1924 (syn.)
* Pseudocloeon carolina (Banks), 1924 (syn.)
* Pseudocloeon turbidum McDunnough, 1924 (orig.)McCafferty,WP; Durfee,RS; Kondratieff,BC 1993 Colorado mayflies (Ephemeroptera): an annotated inventory. Southwestern Naturalist 38 3, 252-274. PDF Quote from page 254: "This species was previously reported from Alberta and Utah (as Pseudocloeon turbidum. The first author has recently seen material from British Columbia also. The larvae of this species has not been formally described, but will be described from the British Columbia material by McCafferty and Wigle. Adults and larvae of A. carolina (Banks) can be easily confused with this species, and any Acentrella larvae that appear to be A. carolina in Colorado are most likely A. turbida. " McCafferty,WP; Wigle,MJ; Waltz,RD 1994 Systematics and biology of Acentrella turbida (McDunnough) (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 70, 301-308. PDF McDunnough,J 1924 New Canadian Ephemeridae with notes, II. Canadian Entomologist 56, 90-98, 113-122, 128-133. Described as Pseudocloeon turbidum.  Peckarsky,BL; Encalada,AC and McIntosh,AR 2011 Why do vulnerable mayflies thrive in trout streams?. American Entomologist, 57(3), pp.152-164. PDF Waltz,RD and McCafferty,WP 1987 Systematics of Pseudocloeon, Acentrella, Baetiella, and Liebebiella, new genus (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 95:553-568. PDF Waltz, RD 1994 Field recognition of adult Acentrella and Heterocloeon (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae). Great Lakes Entomologist 26(4):321-323. PDF The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Data Warehouse (NAWQA) http://waterqualitydata.us/portal/ shows this species is present in Gunnison County. Data as of 1Sep2005 Zhou,X; Adamowicz,SJ; Jacobus,LM; DeWalt,RE and Hebert,PD 2009 Towards a comprehensive barcode library for arctic life-Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Frontiers in zoology, 6(1), p.30. HTML Zuellig,RE; Heinold,BD; Kondratieff,BC and Ruiter,DE 2012 Diversity and Distribution of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Stoneflies (Plecoptera), and Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the South Platte River Basin, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, 1873-2010.U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 606, 257 p. PDF - caution 46MB Quote from page 18: "Remarks: This widespread North American species usually occurs as local populations in the SPRB. McCafferty and others (1994) described the larvae and discussed the biology of A. turbida. Acentrella turbida apparently prefers higher water quality and higher elevations than A. insignificans but can co-occur with A. insignificans at the same site. For example, both often occur at mid-elevation reaches along South Boulder Creek." The elevation range is 5,150-9,050ft. |