| Sialis lutaria | |
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| Sialis lutaria. Side view | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Megaloptera |
| Family: | Sialidae |
| Genus: | Sialis |
| Species: | S. lutaria |
| Binomial name | |
| Sialis lutaria | |
| Synonyms | |
Hemerobius lutariusLinnaeus, 1758 | |
Sialis lutaria, common name alderfly, is a species of alderfly belonging to the order Megaloptera family Sialidae. [1]
This species is mainly present in Austria, Belgium, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Romania and Switzerland. [2]
Adults of this species usually inhabits ponds and slow-flowing streams, while the larvae live in mud and detritus under water. [3]
Adults can reach 20 millimetres (0.79 in) of length, with a wingspan of 22–34 millimetres (0.87–1.34 in). [4] They have a stocky body with a black or dark brown basic coloration, including head and legs. The wings are greyish, membranous and translucent, with pronounced dark venation. At rest they are held roof-like over their body. [3]
The flat larvae reach approximately 17 millimetres (0.67 in). [5] They have large heads, powerful jaws and three pairs of legs. Furthermore, they show feathery gills on the abdominal segments. The abdomen terminates with a long gill. [3] [4]
Adults are most often encountered from May through June on vegetation near slow-flowing streams or close to ponds. They are bad fliers and never leave the waters where the larvae have developed.
Females lay a large quantity of eggs on plants overhanging the waters, where larvae will fall after hatching. Larvae are aquatic predators of small invertebrates and usually wait for their prey in silt or under stones just emerging from the water. The life cycle in this species lasts about one-two years, but the adults live two-three days only, without feeding. [5] [6] [7]
Aquatic insects or water insects live some portion of their life cycle in the water. They feed in the same ways as other insects. Some diving insects, such as predatory diving beetles, can hunt for food underwater where land-living insects cannot compete.
Megaloptera is an order of insects. It contains the alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies, and there are about 300 known species.
The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis of the adult mouthparts. Integripalpian larvae construct a portable casing to protect themselves as they move around looking for food, while annulipalpian larvae make themselves a fixed retreat in which they remain, waiting for food to come to them. The affinities of the small third suborder Spicipalpia are unclear, and molecular analysis suggests it may not be monophyletic. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, the adults are small moth-like insects with two pairs of hairy membranous wings. They are closely related to the Lepidoptera which have scales on their wings; the two orders together form the superorder Amphiesmenoptera.
Dobsonflies are a subfamily of insects, Corydalinae, part of the Megalopteran family Corydalidae. The larvae are aquatic, living in streams, and the adults are often found along streams as well. The nine genera of dobsonflies are distributed in the Americas, Asia, and South Africa.
The eastern dobsonfly, Corydalus cornutus, is a large insect in the Corydalidae family. It is found in eastern North America in regions with fast-flowing streams where its aquatic larvae develop. These are known as hellgrammites and are among the top invertebrate predators in the streams in which they live. They are used by anglers as bait.
The family Argulidae, whose members are commonly known as carp lice or fish lice, are parasitic crustaceans in the class Ichthyostraca. It is the only family in the monotypic subclass Branchiura and the order Arguloida, although a second family, Dipteropeltidae, has been proposed. Although they are thought to be primitive forms, they have no fossil record.
The banded demoiselle is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along slow-flowing streams and rivers. It is a Eurasian species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to Lake Baikal and northwestern China.
The beautiful demoiselle is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is found in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. It is often found along fast-flowing waters.
The common river galaxias or Canterbury galaxias is a galaxiid fish of the genus Galaxias, found only in Canterbury, New Zealand.
The Australian smelt is a small, pelagic silvery freshwater fish found in large numbers in waters of the south eastern Australian mainland.
The white-legged damselfly or blue featherleg is a damselfly of slow-flowing, muddy waters. It occurs from the Atlantic to Siberia and is often abundant throughout its range.
The California giant salamander is a species of salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. Dicamptodon ensatus is endemic to California, in the western United States. The species once additionally included individuals now belonging to the species D. aterrimus and D. tenebrosus, under the common name Pacific giant salamander, which now refers to the genus and family.
Alderflies are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric Euchauliodidae. All living alderflies – about 66 species all together – are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains between one and seven extant genera according to different scientists' views.
Gerris lacustris, commonly known as the common pond skater or common water strider, is a species of water strider, found across Europe.
Protosialis casca is an extinct species of alderfly in the Sialidae subfamily Sialinae. The species is solely known from the early Miocene, Burdigalian stage, Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola. Protosialis casca is one of only two known alderfly species present in the West Indies, the only other species is the living Protosialis bifasciata native to Cuba.
Atherix ibis, the yellow-legged water-snipefly, is a species of ibis flies belonging to the family Athericidae, a small family very similar to Rhagionidae.
Atherix marginata, the black-legged water-snipefly, is a species of ibis flies belonging to the family Athericidae, a small family very similar to the Rhagionidae.
Sialis is a genus of alderfly belonging to the order Megaloptera family Sialidae.
Nigronia serricornis has many common names including hellgrammites or fishflies or saw-combed fishflies. The genus Nigronia has one other North American member N. fasciatus and South American which lives in much of the same territory and is quite similar in all regards. They are holometabolous insects with an aquatic larval stage. N. serricornis is a common inhabitant of woodland streams in North America and they are often the largest insect predator found in 2nd and 3rd order streams. The larvae are a sit-and -wait ambush predators that feed on a large variety of invertebrates. Studies have shown that N. serricornis has a varying diet throughout the seasons.
Archichauliodes diversus is an insect in the subfamily Chauliodinae - the fishflies, though it is often referred to as the New Zealand dobsonfly, despite not being a true dobsonfly. In its larval form it is commonly known by the name toe-biter, and its Māori name is puene. The species is native to New Zealand. Although there are many other species of fishfly in other parts of the world, Archichauliodes diversus is the only species of fishfly in New Zealand.
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