Search Results - Field Guide

Showing 1 - 8 of 8 results
Photo of an alderfly larva among rocks and gravel in an aquarium.
Alderfly Larvae
Sialis spp.
Alderfly larvae look a lot like their cousins the fishflies, but instead of having pairs of fleshy tails, they have only a single tail pointing straight back.
Photo of a fishfly larva crawling among rocks in an aquarium.
Fishfly Larvae
Chauliodes, Neohermes, and Nigronia spp. (in eastern US)
Fishfly larvae look a lot like their cousins the hellgrammites, but they lack cottony or hairy gill tufts along the abdomen, and they have 2 short, fleshy tails at the hind tip.
Riffle beetle larva photographed in water in a dish
Riffle Beetle Larvae
About 100 species in North America north of Mexico
Riffle beetles live underwater, in shallow, swift-flowing streams, as both adults and larvae. The larvae are elongated, multi-segmented, and rather hard and stiff; they reach about ½ inch long. The adults, the size of small ants, are oval with long legs.
Adult riffle beetle walking on a rock under water
Riffle Beetles
About 100 species in North America north of Mexico
Riffle beetles live underwater, in shallow, swift-flowing streams, as both adults and larvae. The adults, the size of small ants, are oval with long legs. The larvae are elongated, multi-segmented, and rather hard and stiff; they reach about ½ inch long.
Photo of two water penny beetles clinging to a wet rock.
Water Penny Beetle Larvae
Beetles in the family Psephenidae
Water penny beetle larvae are truly nifty aquatic invertebrates that bring out the child in all of us. Some of them really do look like pennies!
Photo of a collared water scavenger beetle showing back.
Water Scavenger Beetles
Beetles in the family Hydrophilidae
Water scavenger beetles are a mostly aquatic family. They are similar to predaceous diving beetles, but unlike them many have a distinctive spine running down the center of their bellies.
Photo of caddisfly larva with case made of detritus
Caddisfly Larvae
About 1,500 species in North America north of Mexico
The aquatic larvae of caddisflies are famous for building portable, protective cases out of local materials, including grains of sand, bits of leaves and twigs, and other debris. The adults are mothlike.
Water springtails congregate in water above soggy dead leaves
Water Springtail
Podura aquatica
In early spring, clusters of water springtails float on the surface of quiet waters, on muddy banks, and on protruding objects. Adults are bluish gray with reddish appendages.