Bug FAQBlack Stonefly
Austroperla cyrene · Order: Plecoptera · Family: Austroperlidae
Adult black stoneflies have bright yellow and white markings on a black body as a warning signal. They live in streams, feeding on decaying wood and leaves, and are common in forested streams but scarce in deforested ones. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults show bright yellow and white warning colours on a black background.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is a shredder that lives in streams, feeding on decomposing wood and leaves. It is common in forested streams but rare or absent from streams where the forest has been cleared.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both larvae and adults feed on decaying wood and leaf material in streams.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Austroperla cyrene is endemic to New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the black stonefly look like?
Adults have bright yellow and white markings on a black body as a warning signal.
Source: Wikipedia
What habitat does it prefer?
It lives in streams, feeding on decaying wood and leaves, and is most common in forested streams.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austroperla
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.