- Scientific name: Alloperla voinae
- Species of Greatest Conservation Need (MA State Wildlife Action Plan)
Description
The Lawrence sallfly is a small slender insect belonging to the order Pelocoptera (stoneflies), family Chloroperlidae (green stoneflies) and genus Alloperla. Adults are light green or pale yellow in color with wings lying flat across the abdomen when at rest. Nymphs are <10mm (0.4 in) in length. Refer to keys from Surdick (2004) for adults, and Stewart and Stark (2008) and for nymphs and adults at the genus-level for definitive idenitification.
Life cycle and behavior
Little is known of the life history of Lawrence sallfly but can be inferred from species from shared genus, family, and/or order taxonomic levels. The life cycle of the Lawrence sallfly is 1-2 years consisting of an egg, nymph (i.e. larva), and adult life stages. Eggs cling to substrate via a gelatinous film and other stabilizing mechanism. Eggs hatch into nymphs growing and molting for months. Nymphs are predators and facultative collector-gatherers or scrapers of organic matter with diet potentially shifting with growth. Nymphs can be found clinging to rocks or organic matter and mosses in various mesohabitats. The nymphs emerge from the water onto stable substrate (e.g., rocks, vegetation) and transform into winged adults. Adults may be present from June through July, live for about 1-4 weeks, and disperse upstream, downstream, and into other streams (i.e., <1km; 0.6 mi) within forested upland corridors. For reproduction, males mount females and release sperm internally or externally of the female’s genital pore. After mating occurs, females either release eggs over the water surface or dip their abdomens and deposit them into the water.
Distribution and abundance
The Lawrence sallfly range extends from New York, northeast to Nova Scotia and into Quebec. In New England the species has been recorded in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. In Massachusetts, the species was recorded from one stream in the Westfield River watershed in the 1970s. The species distribution and abundance are data deficient in Massachusetts. Lawrence sallfly is a 2023 Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need of high conservation concern and has been typically recorded at low abundances and few localities in its range.
Habitat
Lawrence sallfly inhabits small to moderate-sized cold-water streams with cobble and gravel substrate. The species has also been documented near pond habitat elsewhere in its range. Nymphs of other species in the genus tend to occupy the hyporheic zone at earlier instars.
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Threats
Degradation of water quality, alteration of streamflows, and upland habitat loss are primary threats to Lawrence sallfly. Potential threats to water quality include pollution and sewage overflow, salt and other road contaminant run-off, herbicides and pesticides, and siltation from construction or erosion. The disruption of natural flow regimes by water withdrawals, damming, and stream channelization may have a negative impact on populations. Warming stream temperatures and changes to precipitation regimes from climate change may reduce suitable habitat. Additional threats illegal or accidental industrial discharge and hardening of channel banks and siltation that creates unstable stream habitat.
Conservation
Survey and monitoring
Standardized and targeted surveys for Lawrence sallfly is needed to determine its status in Massachusetts. Surveys should target stream sites to determine species occupancy and population status, particularly in western Massachusetts. Multiple site visits (e.g., ≥3) may be required to detect this species. Routine monitoring of prioritized sites is needed estimate occupancy trends overtime.
Management
Upland and stream habitat protection is critical for the conservation of Lawrence sallfly. Protection of forested upland borders of these river systems are critical in maintaining suitable water quality and are critical for feeding, resting, and maturation. Development of these areas should be discouraged, and the preservation of remaining undeveloped uplands should be a priority. Alternatives to commonly applied road salts should tested to minimize freshwater salinization. Hardened and channelized stream segments should be restored to promote natural sediment dynamics.
Research needs
Through standardized surveys, effort is needed to define habitat requirements, distribution, relative abundance, phenological timing (e.g., adult emergence), and breeding sites. Research effort is needed to estimate detection and occupancy rates and how other environmental variables (e.g., sample timing, weather) affect these rates. Other research efforts include projections of species distribution under climate change scenarios and climate vulnerability analysis in Massachusetts, since this species occupies cold-water streams.
References
Baumann, R.W., and B.C. Kondratieff. 2009. A study of the eastern Nearctic Alloperla (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) with hirsute epiprocts using the scanning electron microscope. Illiesia 5(10):99-107.
Beaty, S. R. 2015. The Plecoptera of North Carolina: A Biologist’s Handbook for the Identification of Stonefly Nymphs with Standard Taxonomic Effort Levels. Version 4.0. North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources, Biological Assessment Branch. Raleigh, North Carolina. iv + 91 pp.
DeWalt RE, Hopkins H, Neu-Becker U, and Stueber G. Alloperla voinae Ricker, 1947. Plecoptera Species File. Retrieved on 2025-04-08 at https://plecoptera.speciesfile.org/otus/894049/overview
Hitchcock, S.W. 1968. Alloperla (Chloroperlidae: Plecoptera) of the northeast with a key to species. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 76(1):39-46.
Macneale, K.H., Peckarsky, B.L., G.E. Likens. 2005. Stable isotopes identify dispersal patterns of stonefly populations living along stream corridors. Freshwater Biology 50:1117-1130.
Myers, L.W., B.C. Kondratieff, T.B. Mihuc, D.E. Ruiter. 2011. The mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Adirondack Park (New York state). Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1890-) 137(1/2):63-140.
Neves, R.J. 1978. Seasonal succession and diversity of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in Factory Brook, Massachusetts. Journal of New York Entomological Society 86(3):144-152.
Surdick, R.F. 2004. Chloroperlidae (The Sallflies). In B.P. Stark and B.J. Armitage (editors). The stoneflies (Plecoptera) of eastern North America. Volume II, Chloroperlidae, Perlidae, and Perlodidae (Perlodinae). Bulletin of the Ohio Biological Survey, New Series 14 (4):1-60.
Stewart, K.W., and B.P. Stark. 2008. Ch. 14 Plecoptera in R.W., Merritt, Cummins, K.W. and Berg, M.B., Eds. 2008. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa.
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| Date published: | April 11, 2025 |
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