Alpine Wonders – Thaumatoperla's Journal

While Thaumatoperla alpina are still around and active on the Bogong High Plains, our attention has moved further south to the Mount Buller and Mount Stirling area. The species here, Thaumatoperla flaveola, is not as brightly coloured as it's sister on the Bogong High Plains and camouflages well into the surroundings. This species distribution is above 1000m and they occur in the King, Howqua and Delatite catchments. They were quite active before Easter and have been seen recently along the Klingsporn Bridle Track.

Thaumatoperla are most easily found as adults. As larvae, they bury themselves beneath the sediment or rocks at the bottom of streams.

Thaumatoperla alpina

T. alpina adults can be found on vegetation in the riparian area across the Bogong High Plains. They have already been spotted this year (with much excitement) at sites near Falls Creek. They are mostly found on vegetation close to or overhanging flowing mountain streams and tend to climb up and occupy the upper foliage. So in the higher areas of the Bogong High Plains you'll usually find them below eye level - on heath plants such as alpine baeckea (Baeckea gunnianaa), Acrothamnus montanusa, and Bossiaea sericea, or on alpine grasses and rushes. But, they may be spotted even up in the canopies of snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora). In the montane forest of lower altitudes where the Eucalypts are less constrained by the elements, you might need binoculars to see them.

Thaumatoperla flaveola

We are now moving into T. flaveola's emergence period (March - May). T. flaveola are endemic to the Mount Buller and Mount Stirling areas of Victoria's alpine country. This species is regarded as being restricted to areas above 1000m, but they may potentially inhabit lower areas so do keep your eyes peeled. T. flaveola can be found in much the same kind of habitat as T. alpina and like to run along the ground but also climb too.

Thaumatoperla robusta

Firstly, good luck! To our knowledge, there are no records of T. robusta since the 70s except for a photographic record of one stonefly made in 2017. T.robusta are endemic to Yarra Ranges to Mount Baw Baw.

If you are keen to see some Thaumatoperla while out and about, then this is the time of year to start looking.

The adults are just starting to emerge on the Bogong High Plains and will be active until late April. The emergence times vary as you move from west to east across the Bogong High Plains.

The Mount Stirling-Mount Buller species, Thaumatoperla flaveola, begins it emergence around March and stops when the snows arrive. The species is known from the higher elevations (above 1000m) of the King, Delatite and Howqua catchments.

Thaumatoperla robusta has very few records, although a fairly recent one on iNat! It previously hadn't been recorded since the 1970s which shows what a fantastic source of information iNat is. Please keep sharing your observations. Most records of this species is from April in the Mount Baw Baw and Yarra Ranges areas.

The Thaumatoperla species are a unique and iconic group found in the Victorian alpine areas of Australia. We currently have funding as part of the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery program to look at the impact of the devastating 2019/20 bushfires on the Thaumatoperla species. This funding will enable us to map the distribution of the three Thaumatoperla species and identify priority actions needed to support the recovery and conservation of these species. In order to successfully do this we need as many eyes on the ground as possible so if you are in the Victorian alpine areas during the summer/autumn period, keep an eye out!