A phenomenological approach to the growth of the winter stonefly, Taeniopteryx nivalis (Fitch) (Plecoptera:Taeniopterygidae).

The growth and respiration of a univoltine winter stonefly, Taeniopteryx nivalis (Fitch) was evaluated over a period which encompassed both the nymphal and adult life stages. A simple allometry did not describe the relation found between weight and respiration during the evaluated growth period. The relation between growth and respiration of T. nivalis was described by an extension of the stochastic growth model of Zotina and Zotin, which enables one to determine the biological age of an organism by utilizing only weight and respiration. From a comparison of the general Bertalanffy growth model with the extended stochastic model, the growth of T. nivalis up to the last instar could be ascribed entirely to anabolic processes; differentiation probably accounts for the observed relation between weight and respiration during the last nymphal instar.