Overview
T. lacustris
is recorded from Tas., and
T. lacuscoerulei
and
T. nigrescens
from the south-eastern mainland. The genus occurs on the mainland from Barrington Tops, N.S.W., to the Fleurieu Peninsula, S.A. and is also present on Flinders Is in Bass Strait. Nymphs occur in upland lakes and the sandy, silty, slowly flowing reaches of usually small streams (where they sometimes burrow), and over altitudes from near the summit of Mt Kosciusko (about 2000 m) to almost sea-level in small, coastal streams. Nymphs feed on fine particulate detritus (Campbell 1985).
An undescribed species of
Tasmanophlebia
in a small, sub-alpine stream was found to be basically univoltine, but with some early emerging individuals giving rise to a second summer generation (Campbell 1986). Nymphs leave the water prior to ecdysis, and emergence occurs at dusk during November-March. Each female produces about 1500 eggs. Males of
T. lacuscoerulei
have been observed swarming near the edges of a lake in the middle of a hot, summer day, while males of
T. lacustris
swarm some distance from the water. No species of
Tasmanophlebia
appear to be attracted to lights.
Description
The family is represented in Australia by
Tasmanophlebia
. Nymphs are large with the first abdominal gills covering the other gill pairs. Adults have transparent wings with the wing bases washed with intense orange or dark brown.