Alpine Wonders – Thaumatoperla's Journal

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!

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.