The mayfly family Neoephemeridae was discovered in Wisconsin for the first time and is represented by the species Neoephemera bicolor. Nymphs were collected from three sites in two rivers in northern Wisconsin. Adults were reared from nymphs. Some physical and chemical characteristics of the sample locations are discussed

Dimick, Jeffrey J

Klubertanz, Tom H

Ledder, Tracey D

Schmude, Kurt L

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 45 
Numbers 1 & 2 - Spring/Summer 2012 Numbers 
1 & 2 - Spring/Summer 2012 
Article 8 
April 2012 
First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in 
Wisconsin 
Kurt L. Schmude 
University of Wisconsin 
Tracey D. Ledder 
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 
Tom H. Klubertanz 
University of Wisconsin 
Jeffrey J. Dimick 
University of Wisconsin 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Schmude, Kurt L.; Ledder, Tracey D.; Klubertanz, Tom H.; and Dimick, Jeffrey J. 2012. "First Report of the 
Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 45 (1) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol45/iss1/8 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
2012 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 99
1Lake Superior Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Superior, WI 
54880. (e-mail: kschmude@uwsuper.edu).
2 Bad River Tribal Natural Resources Department, Odanah, WI. Current address: Wis-
consin Department of Natural Resources, Superior, WI 54880.  
(e-mail: Tracey.Ledder@wisconsin.gov).
3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Rock County, Janesville, 
WI 53546. (e-mail: tom.h.klubertanz@uwc.edu).
4 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI 54481. 
(e-mail: jdimick@uwsp.edu)
First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera)  
in Wisconsin
Kurt L. Schmude1, Tracey D. Ledder2, Tom H. Klubertanz3, and Jeffrey J. Dimick4
Abstract
The mayfly family Neoephemeridae was discovered in Wisconsin for the 
first time and is represented by the species Neoephemera bicolor. Nymphs were 
collected from three sites in two rivers in northern Wisconsin. Adults were 
reared from nymphs. Some physical and chemical characteristics of the sample 
locations are discussed.
 
____________________
Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in the family Neoephemeridae are inhabitants of 
streams in eastern North America and are relatively uncommon or rare through-
out their range.  There are four described species in the genus Neoephemera 
(Berner 1956, Bae and McCafferty 1998).  Neoephemera compressa Berner and 
Neoephemera youngi Berner are southeastern species that occur in the coastal 
states.  Neoephemera purpurea (Traver) is another southeastern species that 
occurs as far northwest as southern Kentucky (Randolph and McCafferty 1998). 
The fourth species, Neoephemera bicolor McDunnough, was described from adults 
collected in Quebec (McDunnough 1925).  Subsequently, Berner (1956) described 
the nymphs of a species that he attributed to N. bicolor from nymphs collected 
in 1936 from the Rifle River along the eastern border of the lower peninsula of 
Michigan.  Jacobus and McCafferty (2002) noted that nymphs of N. bicolor have 
never been reared to the adult stage, and that the nymphs that Berner described 
may be attributed to this species, or they may represent a new species.  The au-
thors also mentioned that the nymphs collected in central Missouri (Sarver and 
Kondratieff 1997) appeared to be conspecific with the nymphs from Michigan. 
Hilsenhoff (1995) did not believe that this family would be found in Wisconsin 
and did not include it in his publication.
In 2000, the lead author identified nymphs of Neoephemera collected by 
one of the junior authors (TDL) from a river within the reservation lands of the 
Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, in northern 
Wisconsin.  Additional nymphs were collected during routine surveys by person-
nel of the Bad River Band’s Natural Resources Department at the same site on 
several occasions from 2001-2009.  Five additional nymphs were subsequently 
found in 2009 in another river within the tribal reservation.  All of the nymphs 
appeared to agree with the descriptions of the characters for N. bicolor as pre-
sented in Berner (1956) and Bae and McCafferty (1998).  [Note: the names and 
1
Schmude et al.: First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin
Published by ValpoScholar, 2012
100 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 45, Nos. 1 - 2
locations of these two sites within the tribal reservation are being withheld 
by request from the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa 
Indians, which can be contacted directly for further details.]
On 23 June 2009, 12 mature nymphs were found in the White River on 
State Highway 13 in Ashland, Co., Wisconsin (46°30’59.02” N, 90°50’38.55” W), 
which is a site outside of the tribal reservation land.  The nymphs were clinging 
to aquatic vegetation (Potamogeton sp.) in shallow water (10-40 cm) near the 
shoreline.  Due to the turbidity, the vegetation needed to be pulled from the 
streambed and rinsed in a pan in order to notice the attached nymphs.  The 
nymphs were located at the base of the plant within or near the silt substrate. 
The nymphs were reared in aquaria for several weeks until they emerged as 
adults.  Adult stages (subimago and imago) were allowed to live for several 
days.  Voucher specimens exist in the collections of KLS and THK.  These reared 
adults represent the first published records of reared specimens for N. bicolor.
Due to the rarity of N. bicolor, little is known about its biology and habitat 
preference.  It is usually found in rivers and large streams with slow to moderate 
current, clinging to clumps of debris, branches, and roots of emergent vegetation 
(Berner 1956, Edmunds et al. 1976).  The White River is a 5th order stream at 
our site with a mean monthly flow rate in the summer months ranging from 
6-10 m³/s.  The bottom substrates are predominantly gravel and fine sand, with 
silt and submerged wood near the shoreline.  Water clarity is usually poor due 
to relatively high turbidity caused by erosion of the stream banks, which con-
tain clay and fine sand. Turbidity ranges from 5 to 20 JTU (Jackson Turbidity 
Units).  Summer temperatures fluctuate between 16°C and 25°C, while the pH 
value averages 7.8.  Dissolved oxygen values range from 7.0 to 9.0 mg/L (unpub-
lished water data courtesy of the Bad River Watershed Association for 2009 and 
2010).  The stream in which the species was first found has similar water data 
to the White River at Highway 13.  The other stream in the tribal reservation 
in which nymphs were collected in 2009 is different in a few features.  It is a 6th 
order stream with clear water (not turbid), colder temperature (8°C), greater 
dissolved oxygen (13 mg/L), and a more heterogeneous substrate consisting of 
sand (25%), coarse woody debris (25%), leaf snags (25%), clay (10%), silt (10%), 
and overhanging vegetation (10%). 
The discovery of Neoephemeridae, in particular N. bicolor, in northern 
Wisconsin is a considerable northwestern range extension for this family and 
species.  The distance from the site in the White River in northern Wisconsin 
to the site in east-central Michigan (Rifle River in Omer) where N. bicolor was 
collected 75 years ago is about 500 miles.  Wisconsin has been rigorously sampled 
for macroinvertebrates for several decades by the Wisconsin Department of 
Natural Resources, numerous other organizations and agencies, and individual 
researchers (e.g., William Hilsenhoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison).  The 
fact that this family of mayflies could have escaped detection from this sampling 
effort, and the knowledge that the species has now been located at three separate 
nearby sites with differing stream characteristics, is remarkable.
Literature Cited
Bae, Y. J., and W. P. McCafferty. 1998. Phylogenetic systematics and biogeography of 
the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera: Pannota). Aquatic Insects 20: 35-68.
Berner, L. 1956. The genus Neoephemera in North America (Ephemeroptera: Neo-
ephemeridae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 49: 33-42.
Edmunds, G. F., Jr., S. L. Jensen, and L. Berner. 1976. The mayflies of North and 
Central America. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 330 pages.
Hilsenhoff, W. L. 1995. Aquatic Insects of Wisconsin. Keys to Wisconsin Genera and Notes 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 45, No. 1 [2012], Art. 8
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol45/iss1/8
2012 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 101
on Biology, Habitat, Distribution and Species. Natural History Museums Council, 
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Publication Number 3, 79 pages.
Jacobus, L.M. and W.P. McCafferty.  2002.  Analysis of some historically unfamiliar 
Canadian mayflies (Ephemeroptera).  The Canadian Entomologist 134: 141-155. 
McDunnough, J. 1925. New Canadian Ephemeridae with notes, III. The Canadian 
Entomologist 57: 168-176.
Randolph, R. P., and W. P. McCafferty. 1998. Diversity and Distribution of the May-
flies (Ephemeroptera) of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 
Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin New Series 13(1), vii-188 pages.
Sarver, R., and B. C. Kondratieff.   1997. Survey of Missouri mayflies with the first 
description of adults of Stenonema bednarki (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae). Journal 
of the Kansas Entomological Society 70: 132-140.
3
Schmude et al.: First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin
Published by ValpoScholar, 2012


First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 45 Numbers 1 & 2 - Spring/Summer 2012 Numbers 1 & 2 - Spring/Summer 2012 Article 8 April 2012 First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin Kurt L. Schmude University of Wisconsin Tracey D. Ledder Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Tom H. Klubertanz University of Wisconsin Jeffrey J. Dimick University of Wisconsin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Schmude, Kurt L.; Ledder, Tracey D.; Klubertanz, Tom H.; and Dimick, Jeffrey J. 2012. "First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 45 (1) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol45/iss1/8 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 2012 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 991Lake Superior Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Superior, WI 54880. (e-mail: kschmude@uwsuper.edu).2 Bad River Tribal Natural Resources Department, Odanah, WI. Current address: Wis-consin Department of Natural Resources, Superior, WI 54880.  (e-mail: Tracey.Ledder@wisconsin.gov).3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Rock County, Janesville, WI 53546. (e-mail: tom.h.klubertanz@uwc.edu).4 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI 54481. (e-mail: jdimick@uwsp.edu)First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera)  in WisconsinKurt L. Schmude1, Tracey D. Ledder2, Tom H. Klubertanz3, and Jeffrey J. Dimick4AbstractThe mayfly family Neoephemeridae was discovered in Wisconsin for the first time and is represented by the species Neoephemera bicolor. Nymphs were collected from three sites in two rivers in northern Wisconsin. Adults were reared from nymphs. Some physical and chemical characteristics of the sample locations are discussed. ____________________Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in the family Neoephemeridae are inhabitants of streams in eastern North America and are relatively uncommon or rare through-out their range.  There are four described species in the genus Neoephemera (Berner 1956, Bae and McCafferty 1998).  Neoephemera compressa Berner and Neoephemera youngi Berner are southeastern species that occur in the coastal states.  Neoephemera purpurea (Traver) is another southeastern species that occurs as far northwest as southern Kentucky (Randolph and McCafferty 1998). The fourth species, Neoephemera bicolor McDunnough, was described from adults collected in Quebec (McDunnough 1925).  Subsequently, Berner (1956) described the nymphs of a species that he attributed to N. bicolor from nymphs collected in 1936 from the Rifle River along the eastern border of the lower peninsula of Michigan.  Jacobus and McCafferty (2002) noted that nymphs of N. bicolor have never been reared to the adult stage, and that the nymphs that Berner described may be attributed to this species, or they may represent a new species.  The au-thors also mentioned that the nymphs collected in central Missouri (Sarver and Kondratieff 1997) appeared to be conspecific with the nymphs from Michigan. Hilsenhoff (1995) did not believe that this family would be found in Wisconsin and did not include it in his publication.In 2000, the lead author identified nymphs of Neoephemera collected by one of the junior authors (TDL) from a river within the reservation lands of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, in northern Wisconsin.  Additional nymphs were collected during routine surveys by person-nel of the Bad River Band’s Natural Resources Department at the same site on several occasions from 2001-2009.  Five additional nymphs were subsequently found in 2009 in another river within the tribal reservation.  All of the nymphs appeared to agree with the descriptions of the characters for N. bicolor as pre-sented in Berner (1956) and Bae and McCafferty (1998).  [Note: the names and 1Schmude et al.: First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in WisconsinPublished by ValpoScholar, 2012100 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 45, Nos. 1 - 2locations of these two sites within the tribal reservation are being withheld by request from the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which can be contacted directly for further details.]On 23 June 2009, 12 mature nymphs were found in the White River on State Highway 13 in Ashland, Co., Wisconsin (46°30’59.02” N, 90°50’38.55” W), which is a site outside of the tribal reservation land.  The nymphs were clinging to aquatic vegetation (Potamogeton sp.) in shallow water (10-40 cm) near the shoreline.  Due to the turbidity, the vegetation needed to be pulled from the streambed and rinsed in a pan in order to notice the attached nymphs.  The nymphs were located at the base of the plant within or near the silt substrate. The nymphs were reared in aquaria for several weeks until they emerged as adults.  Adult stages (subimago and imago) were allowed to live for several days.  Voucher specimens exist in the collections of KLS and THK.  These reared adults represent the first published records of reared specimens for N. bicolor.Due to the rarity of N. bicolor, little is known about its biology and habitat preference.  It is usually found in rivers and large streams with slow to moderate current, clinging to clumps of debris, branches, and roots of emergent vegetation (Berner 1956, Edmunds et al. 1976).  The White River is a 5th order stream at our site with a mean monthly flow rate in the summer months ranging from 6-10 m³/s.  The bottom substrates are predominantly gravel and fine sand, with silt and submerged wood near the shoreline.  Water clarity is usually poor due to relatively high turbidity caused by erosion of the stream banks, which con-tain clay and fine sand. Turbidity ranges from 5 to 20 JTU (Jackson Turbidity Units).  Summer temperatures fluctuate between 16°C and 25°C, while the pH value averages 7.8.  Dissolved oxygen values range from 7.0 to 9.0 mg/L (unpub-lished water data courtesy of the Bad River Watershed Association for 2009 and 2010).  The stream in which the species was first found has similar water data to the White River at Highway 13.  The other stream in the tribal reservation in which nymphs were collected in 2009 is different in a few features.  It is a 6th order stream with clear water (not turbid), colder temperature (8°C), greater dissolved oxygen (13 mg/L), and a more heterogeneous substrate consisting of sand (25%), coarse woody debris (25%), leaf snags (25%), clay (10%), silt (10%), and overhanging vegetation (10%). The discovery of Neoephemeridae, in particular N. bicolor, in northern Wisconsin is a considerable northwestern range extension for this family and species.  The distance from the site in the White River in northern Wisconsin to the site in east-central Michigan (Rifle River in Omer) where N. bicolor was collected 75 years ago is about 500 miles.  Wisconsin has been rigorously sampled for macroinvertebrates for several decades by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, numerous other organizations and agencies, and individual researchers (e.g., William Hilsenhoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison).  The fact that this family of mayflies could have escaped detection from this sampling effort, and the knowledge that the species has now been located at three separate nearby sites with differing stream characteristics, is remarkable.Literature CitedBae, Y. J., and W. P. McCafferty. 1998. Phylogenetic systematics and biogeography of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera: Pannota). Aquatic Insects 20: 35-68.Berner, L. 1956. The genus Neoephemera in North America (Ephemeroptera: Neo-ephemeridae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 49: 33-42.Edmunds, G. F., Jr., S. L. Jensen, and L. Berner. 1976. The mayflies of North and Central America. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 330 pages.Hilsenhoff, W. L. 1995. Aquatic Insects of Wisconsin. Keys to Wisconsin Genera and Notes 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 45, No. 1 [2012], Art. 8https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol45/iss1/82012 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 101on Biology, Habitat, Distribution and Species. Natural History Museums Council, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Publication Number 3, 79 pages.Jacobus, L.M. and W.P. McCafferty.  2002.  Analysis of some historically unfamiliar Canadian mayflies (Ephemeroptera).  The Canadian Entomologist 134: 141-155. McDunnough, J. 1925. New Canadian Ephemeridae with notes, III. The Canadian Entomologist 57: 168-176.Randolph, R. P., and W. P. McCafferty. 1998. Diversity and Distribution of the May-flies (Ephemeroptera) of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin New Series 13(1), vii-188 pages.Sarver, R., and B. C. Kondratieff.   1997. Survey of Missouri mayflies with the first description of adults of Stenonema bednarki (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 70: 132-140.3Schmude et al.: First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in WisconsinPublished by ValpoScholar, 2012

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First Report of the Neoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera) in Wisconsin

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