Plecoptera: Capniidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoCapnia confusa
Widespread Snowfly, Winter StoneflyClaassen 1936
Updated 5 June 2005
Locations Collected
East River
Links
On this website:
Capniidae Introduction
Capnia Introduction
Other Websites:
Map - Kondratieff, Boris C. and Richard W. Baumann (coordinators). 2000. Stoneflies of the United States. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. (Version 12DEC2003)
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/sfly/usa/48.htm.
References
Baumann,RW; Gaufin,AR; Surdick,RF 1977 The stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Rocky Mountains. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 31, 1-208.
Quoted from page 68: "This species occurs commonly in creeks,with the adults emerging from Febuary to June."
Claassen,PW 1936 New names for stoneflies (Plecoptera). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 29, 622-623.
Duffield,RM; Nelson,CH 1998 Stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the diet of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchell) in Libby Creek, Wyoming, USA. Hydrobiologia 380, 59-65.
Although collected as adults in the streamside vegetation, Capnia confusa adults were not found in the stomach contents of the trout living in the stream. However, some larvae were found in trout gut contents.
Kondratieff,BC; Baumann,RW 2002 A review of the stoneflies of Colorado with description of a new species of Capnia (Plecoptera: Capniidae). Transactions of American Entomological Society 128 3, 385-401.
Quote from page 388: " This later emerging winter stonefly (March to July) is one of the widespread and common stonefly species in Colorado. Capnia confusa adults can be found abundantly emerging from medium to large sized streams ranging in elevation from 1,520 m to 3,860 m. Adults are sometimes still active as late as July at higher elevation streams."
Nelson,RC; Baumann,RW 1989 Systematics and distribution of the winter stonefly genus Capnia (Plecoptera: Capniidae) in North America. Great Basin Naturalist 49, 289-363.
They placed C. confusa in the Vernalis Group. They comment "this is probably the most widespread member of the genus in North America"
Short,RA; Ward,JV 1981 Trophic ecology of three winter stoneflies (Plecoptera). American Midland Naturalist 105, 341-347.
Ruse,LP; Herrmann,SJ 2000 Plecoptera and Trichoptera species distribution related to environmental characteristics of the metal-polluted Arkansas River, Colorado. Western North American Naturalist 60 1, 57-65.
They looked at the Arkansas River above and below some notorious heavy metal mine pollution sources, California Gulch and the Leadville Drain. They found that adult C. confusa were eliminated by the Leadville Drain, recovered and reappeared a ways downstream, then were gone below California Gulch. After freshwater was added to the Arkansas River from the western slope, they reappeared at one site. They were probably missing farther downstream due to warmer water temperatures and would have been missing from a clean river as well.
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