Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoRhithrogena robustaDodds 1923Updated 1 January 2026
TSN 100589 Good LinksOn this website:Introduction to Rhithrogena Other Websites: Photos, Map, Taxon Identifier Numbers - from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Rhithrogena robusta at Gbif Photos, Map, Museums, DNA - Barcode of Life Data System ReferencesAllan,JD 1987 Macroinvertebrate drift in a Rocky Mountain stream. Hydrobiologia 144, 261-268.Carlisle,DM; Clements,WH 2003 Growth and secondary production of aquatic insects along a gradient of Zn contamination in Rocky Mountain streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 22 (4) 582-597. PDF Clements,WH; Carlisle,DN; Lazorchak,JM and Johnson,PC 2000 Heavy metals structure benthic communities in Colorado mountain streams. Ecological Applications 10(2)626-638. Abstract Quote from page 632: "In particular, abundance of the mayflies Rhithrogena robusta (Fig. 5b), Cinygmula sp.(Fig. 5c), and Drunella doddsi(Fig. 5d), and the stonefly Sweltsa sp.(Fig. 5e) was significantly lower at medium- and high-metal stations." Courtney,LA and Clements,WH 2000 Sensitivity to acidic pH in benthic invertebrate assemblages with different histories of exposure to metals. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 19 (1) 112-127.Abstract Dodds,GS 1923 Mayflies from Colorado: descriptions of certain species and notes on others. Transactions of American Entomological Society 69, 93-116. PDF First description of this species. Dodds,GS and Hisaw,FL 1925. Ecological studies on aquatic insects. IV. Altitudinal range and zonation of mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies in the Colorado Rockies. Ecology 6(4)380-390. Abstract PDF Gersich,FM and Brusven,MA 1982 Volcanic ash accumulation and ash-voiding mechanisms of aquatic insects. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 55(2) 290-296. Abstract: "Four species of aquatic insects (Hesperoperla pacifica, Rhyacophila acropedes/R. vao, Drunella doddsi and Rhithrogena robusta) were subjected to suspended ash concentration of ca. 2000 mg/1 in laboratory streams for 48 hr. Macro- and microscopic examination revealed substantial ash accumulation on the exo-skeleton; however, acute toxicity was not noted. Ash-impacted aquatic insects placed in a clean water environment voided appreciable amounts of ash within 24 hr. We conclude that the four species studied had high short-term exposure tolerances to ash and that behavioral attributes allowed for the removal of exoskeletal ash deposits once the perturbation ceased." Gilpin,BR and Brusven,MA 1970 Food habits and ecology of mayflies of the St. Maries River in Idaho. Melanderia 4:19-40. PDF Jensen,SL 1966 The Mayflies of Idaho (Ephemeroptera). M.S. Thesis, University of Utah, Utah. 364 p. Quote from Page 195: "Dodds (1923) described this species from a series of nymphns collected in COlorado. Traver (1935b) and Edmunds (1952b) provide descriptions of the adults, and Dodds (1923) and Edminds (1952b) of the nymphs. Taxonomy and Biology: This species is distinct taxonomically from all other species of Rhithrogena occuring in Idaho and, once nymphs of related species are known, may represent a new subgenus. Adults are easily distinguised by the unique structure of the penes on the male, and nymphs by gill structures. The nymphs are usually found in small, rapidly flowing streams above elevations of 5,000 feet where they live on rocks in the swiftest portion of the current. Little is known about the biology of the adults. Edmunds (1952b) reports that single males have been collected in Utah during late June and early July. Distribution: Rhithrogena robusta is a boreal western North AMerican species previously unreported from Idaho. " McCafferty,WP; Durfee,RS and Kondratieff,BC 1993 Colorado mayflies (Ephemeroptera): an annotated inventory. Southwestern Naturalist 38 3, 252-274. PDF Quote from page 262: "Dodds (1923) first noted that larvae of this species may or may not have pink or red gills. A parallel situation was discussed by Flowers and Hilsenhoff (1975) for the eastern and midwestern species R. impersonata McDunnough. " Peckarsky,BL 1980 Influence of detritus on colonization of stream invertebrates. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37, 957-963. Peckarsky,BL 1991 A field test of resource depression by predatory stonefly larvae. Oikos 61 (1) 3-10. Webb,JM and McCafferty,WP 2008 Heptageniidae of the world. Part II. Key to the genera. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification, 7(10.37551). PDF larval habitus. Figure 23 Rhithrogena robusta, Figure 24 Rhithrogena robusta, ventral habitus 
Adult thorax, dorsal view. Fig. 115 Rhithrogena robusta, arrow indicates transverse suture, blue line indicates lateroparapsidal sutures, Fig. 116 Rhithrogena robusta, 
Adult mesosternum, Fig. 121 Rhithrogena robusta 
Male genitalia, ventral Fig. 169 Rhithrogena robusta Wellnitz,T and Rader,RB 2003 Mechanisms influencing community composition and succession in mountain stream periphyton; interactions between scouring history, grazing and irradiance. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 22 (4) 528-541. Abstract and full text 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 33: "Remarks: Rhithrogena robusta often co-occurs with R. hageni in the SPRB. Dodds (1923) described this species from South Boulder Creek, Boulder County, Colorado. This species probably is more common than these records indicate." The elevation range is 6,150-11,000 feet and the adults emerge in July. |