Plecoptera: Nemouridae of Gunnison County, Colorado
Prostoia besametsa (Ricker) 1952Banded Forestfly
Updated 3 Aug 2006
Habitat
Knight and Gaufin found that P. besametsa was a cold stenotherm (restricted to cold water), found only at higher elevations in their study of streams in the Gunnison Basin.
Locations Collected
Stark, Oblad and Gaufin (1973) collected this species in the Taylor River, East Fork of Cimarron Creek, Gunnison River and Sapinero Creek. Knight and Gaufin collected P. besameta from 8700-9500 feet in the South Fork of the Gunnison Drainage during the early 1960's. This is one of the most common stoneflies in Colorado, widely distributed in medium to large mountain streams.
Notes
The genus Prostoia was previously included in Nemoura. Older publications may refer to this species as Nemoura besametsa.
Links
On this website:
Introduction to the Nemouridae
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/CO/206.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. Page 188.
Canton,SP; Ward,JV 1981 The aquatic insects, with emphasis on Trichoptera, of a Colorado stream affected by coal strip-mine drainage. Southwestern Naturalist 25 4, 453-460.
They studied Trout Creek where it runs through the Edna Coal Mine in northwestern Colorado. The mine spoils were 30 meters from the edge of the creek (approximately a 100 foot buffer zone). They found the aquatic insect density (numbers per square meter) and biomass (weight in grams per square meter) did not change above and below the mine. The Shannon-Weaver Diversity index also showed no difference between sites. However the community structure (which species were present and proportions) did change. Since there were irrigation water and cattle influences at their downstream site, their results may reflect these additional water uses. They note the biggest visible change at this mine is the loss of willow and alder trees downstream of the mine. The caddisfly population changed the most between sites, shifting from a mix of families above the mine to dominance by Hydropsychidae and Glossosomatidae below the mine.
Prostoia besametsa was most common at the clean, forested, shaded, upstream site. It was probably more common here partly because it is a shredder and needs leaves to eat.
Knight,AW; Gaufin,AR 1966 Altitudinal distribution of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in a Rocky Mountain drainage system. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 39 4, 668-675.
Kondratieff,BC; Baumann,RW 2002 A review of the stoneflies of Colorado with description of a new species of a new species of Capnia (Plecoptera: Capniidae). Transactions of American Entomological Society 128 3, 385-401.
Nelson,SM; Roline,RA 1999 Relationships between metals and hyporheic invertebrate community structure in a river recovering from metals contamination. Hydrobiologia 397, 211-226. Abstract
Ricker, W.E. 1952. Systematic studies in Plecoptera. Indiana University Publications, Science Series 18, 200 pages, Bloomington, Indiana.
Stark,BP; Oblad,BR; Gaufin,AR 1973 An annotated list of the Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of Colorado Part I. Entomological News 84 9, 269-277.
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