**Stonefly Genus Hesperoperla (Golden Stones)**

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Plecoptera (Stoneflies)

» Family Perlidae (Golden Stones)

» Genus Hesperoperla (Golden Stones)

Species in Hesperoperla
Hesperoperla pacificaGolden Stone	0	0

1 species isn't included.

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Golden Stones
	Big Golden Stones

Pictures Below ↓

The important western genus Hesperoperla currently has only two species. See the species hatch pages for details.

Pictures of 8 Stonefly Specimens in the Genus Hesperoperla:

Specimen Page:12

Female Hesperoperla pacifica (Golden Stone) Stonefly Adult

View 13 PicturesMy blurry photo at first makes it look like there might be a distinct notch in the subgenital plate of this specimen, but that's not the case -- just a poor photo. That's important to the ID.

Collected July 2, 2019 from the Gallatin River in Montana
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 18, 2019

Female Hesperoperla pacifica (Golden Stone) Stonefly Adult

View 1 PicturesFly fishermen refer to this stonefly as one of "golden stones".

Collected November 30, 1999 from the Grande Rhonde River in Washington
Added to Troutnut.com by Bnewell on June 26, 2011

Hesperoperla pacifica (Golden Stone) Stonefly Nymph

View 1 PicturesThis monster started to feed within a few minutes of sharing the inspection tray with its victims. This nymph is a voracious predator of small invertebrates and has even been noted for feeding on small fish and salmonid alevins. The niche it fills in fast water is equivalent to the Dragonfly nymphs that inhabit slower water.

Hesperoperla pacifica nymphs are easily distinguished from other western perlids by the presence of anal gills (obfuscated by algae in the tray) in combination with an hour glass shaped pale mark on the front of their heads.

Collected March 22, 2013 from the Lower Yuba River in CA
Added to Troutnut.com by Entoman on April 4, 2013

Specimen Page:12

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Jargon Defined:

Nymph: The juvenile, underwater stages of mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies and other aquatic insects whose juvenile stages are covered by hard exoskeletons. The word can also refer to the fishing flies which imitate these creatures, in which case it is used as a blanket term for flies imitating any underwater stage of an invertebrate (except for crayfish and leeches).

Useful References:

Schwiebert, Ernest G. 1955. Matching the Hatch. MacMillan Publishing Company.