The Plecoptera are an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Their larvae spend their life under water until mature enough to emerge as winged adult stoneflies. An interesting aspect of their biology from a musician’s perspective is that, in many species, adult stoneflies of both sexes communicate with one another by drumming the tip of their abdomen on a solid surface, transmitting sound waves through the surface in species-specific patterns. When my friend Craig Macadam, who works with the international invertebrate conservation charity Buglife and is a stonefly expert, told me he had managed to record the drumming of several stonefly species using a sensitive contact microphone, I wondered if I could incorporate them in to a track as a form of percussion. And so, this piece incorporates drumming recording from five different stonefly species found in the UK. I’m proud to include them as the Plecopteran Quintet! The stonefly audio samples I’ve included are (c)Craig Macadam. The accompanying photo is of one of the species, Nemoura avicularis, and is (c) Jens Lund Hansen, taken from the www.naturbasen.dk website. The accompanying music is in the key of A minor and the tempo of 100 bpm suits the pace of the plecopteran drumming.

Stonefly Parade (feat. The Plecopteran Quintet)

Biologist, composer, producer, occasional musician. Music and soundscapes inspired by stories from science, science fiction, the cosmos, space exploration, nature, history, the Earth, water, cities and travel (bikes!). The idea's the thing and the game's afoot! Also on HearThis - please follow there https://hearthis.at/scottishnatureboy-iz/