1. Plecoptera Typically clean, cool, running water - rocks, boulders
Few in lakes
Sensitive indicator taxa

2. Adults
Riparian vegetation, or on rocks and debris along stream

3. Larvae Typically switch food type with development:
Usually herbivore-detritivore - switch to omnivore-carnivore
Shredders
Predators

4. Emergence
Through year
Predators - emerge spring-summer

5. Adult behavior Males and females drum to communicate
Tap substrate with tip of abdomen

6. Drumming Females release eggs over stream surface
Eggs stick to surfaces

7. Life history Univoltine = annual life cycle
Few are semivoltine = 2-3 generations / year
Hemimetabolous metamorphosis
= incomplete metamorphosis
No pupal stage

8. Morphology Gills in some Cerci - usually 2 Wingpads
2 claws at end of each leg

10. Be able to ID to family Gills, mouth parts
Pteronarcyidae - finely branched gills on thorax and first 2 abdomen segments

11. Pteronarcyidae

12. No gills on abdomen Finely branched gills on thoracic segments = Perlidae

13. Perlodidae Small fingerlike gills on thorax or none
Distinct pigmentation on head and thorax
Cerci as long as abdomen

14. Chloroperlidae
Thoracic wing pads parallel; cerci <3/4 length of abdomen, thorax and head usually without pattern

15. Capniidae
Abdomen divided by membraneous fold along its whole length, middle segments of abdomen, when viewed from above, are wider than the base of the terminal segments, body is usually brown in color

16. Leuctridae
Abdomen divided by membraneous fold along no more than the first  6 segments, sides of abdomen more or less parallel down their length, usually pale in colour

17. Nemouridae: tarsal segment 2 shorter than 1 Taenioptergidae: tarsal segment 2 = to 1