''Brachyptera putata'', the northern February red, is a species of

stonefly Plecoptera is an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the mo ...

in the family

Taeniopterygidae Taeniopterygidae are a family of stone flies with about 110 described extant species. They are commonly called willowflies or winter stoneflies and have a holarctic distribution. Adults are usually smaller than 15 mm. Genera These 21 gener ...

Description

Adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

males are poorer fliers than females, due to their short wings. They tend to be very aggressive during mating.

Distribution

The species used to live in England and Wales, but now it considered to be an endemic of Scotland. Its main habitat used to be

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...

in Wales, and Wye, England.

Ecology

The larva of the species is feeding on

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

. The species prefers cold water.

Threat level

The species is considered to be locally

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

in England and Wales due to sheep, cattle, and farming. Since 2001 the Countryside Council for Wales had not recorded any comeback of the species in Wales or England. However, the species were found in rivers of Scotland, including in the ones that never had them before.

References

Taeniopterygidae Insects of Europe Taxa named by Edward Newman Insects described in 1838 {{plecoptera-stub