Capniidae

Small winter stoneflies
Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Recent
Eocapnia nivalis on the snow in Nagano (Japan)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Cohort: Polyneoptera
Order: Plecoptera
Superfamily: Nemouroidea
Family: Capniidae
Banks, 1900
Allocapnia, Great Falls, Virginia

The Capniidae, the small winter stoneflies, are a family of insects in the stonefly order (Plecoptera). It constitutes one of the largest stonefly families, containing some 300 species distributed throughout the holarctic. Their closest relatives are the rolled-winged stoneflies (Leuctridae).[1][2]

Many species are endemic to small ranges, perhaps due to the family's tendency to evolve tolerance for cold (isolating populations in mountain valleys) and winglessness (inhibiting dispersal).[2] Indeed, some wingless Capniidae – e.g. the Lake Tahoe benthic stonefly ("Capnia" lacustra, Capnia is not monophyletic and this species is suspected to belong elsewhere) or Baikaloperla spp. – spend their entire lifecycles under water and do not disperse from their native lakes at all.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nelson1996a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Nelson1996b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Holst2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).