Shipsa rotunda

Shipsa rotunda (Claassen, 1923) Notes Shipsa rotunda is commonly known as the Intrepid Forestfly (Stark et al. 2012). This species has a very broad distribution extending from mainland Labrador and New Brunswick west through Alaska, in parallel manner from the New England states west through the Laurentian Great Lakes region, and from Maryland south to Georgia and west to Arkansas (Grubbs and Baumann 2021, DeWalt et al. 2024, Grubbs and Baumann 2023). Harper (1973 a) examined the life history of S. rotunda in Ontario and found that larvae exhibited a univoltine-fast life cycle. Emergence began in May and first instar larvae were present in November, growing steadily until emergence the following spring. Barton (1980) found a similar fast univoltine life cycle for this species in Alberta, except larvae experienced a slowed growth period during the winter months. Adult collection dates from this study range from mid-April through mid-June (Fig. 18). In New York, S. rotunda was collected from elevations ranging from 101-621 m asl (Fig. 19) from larger streams and rivers in Level III Ecoregions Northestern Highlands (58) and Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands (83) (Fig. 21 b). Nymphs were commonly encountered in leaf packs including those found in seasonally inundated floodplain habitats.