stonefly

American  

[stohn-flahy] / ˈstoʊnˌflaɪ /

noun

stoneflies plural

1. any of numerous dull-colored primitive aquatic insects of the order Plecoptera, having a distinctive flattened body shape: a major food source for game fish, especially bass and trout, which makes them popular as models for fishing flies.

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stonefly British  

/ ˈstəʊnˌflaɪ /

noun

1. any insect of the order Plecoptera, in which the larvae are aquatic, living beneath stones, and the adults have long antennae and two pairs of large wings and occur near water

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stoneflies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stonefly

First recorded in 1400–50, stonefly is from late Middle English ston flie. See stone, fly ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stonefly stoneflies

Overlooking the orchards is “Indicator Species,” a silvery, 35-foot-tall kinetic sculpture of a Plecoptera nymph, commonly known as a stonefly, sculpted by Ela Lamblin, as a gathering point for communal celebrations.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

Experts say they also worry about the giant stonefly, whose presence in streams is a sign of high water quality.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2021

Using traditional and eDNA sampling across 12 locations on the River Dee, Mr. Davy-Bowker and his colleagues documented six sites with traces of the scarce yellow sally stonefly, according to findings published last fall.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2020

"The Environment Agency, as it was then known, were carrying out regular sampling of the river when they stumbled across this stonefly," said Clare Dinham, of conservation charity Buglife.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2020

Even in the second year after DDT enters a stream, a foraging salmon parr would have trouble finding anything more than an occasional small stonefly.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Crucially, the data show that families that are particularly sensitive to river pollution, like mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies, are recovering most strongly of all.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2023

With that insight, she got permission from King County to seed four creeks with caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies and other species.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 1, 2022

It is possible that in some places, even before the forests burned, there were already flightless stoneflies that simply expanded their territory after the fires.

From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2021

To answer the question, he and his colleagues collected stoneflies at five sites, walking up through the forests onto the bald crests of the mountains.

From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2021

These are the larval stages of caddis flies, stoneflies, and mayflies.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson