[6][4] Chloroperlidae are hemimetabolous, having no pupal stage, but instead hatch from eggs as nymphs and mature directly into adults.

[7] In the nymph stage, they have almost-parallel hindwing pads to their brown to yellow body, short legs and cerci smaller than their abdomen.

Nymphs are aquatic and inhabit a wide variety of habitats, especially in the stony bottoms of cold mountain streams and/or lakes.

[6][13] The family Chloroperlidae is not very tolerant to pollutants, making them a good indicator species of very high water quality.

[14] This shows the importance of the hyporheic zone prior to their emergence, but also the challenges for further research on early instars and voltinism.

[7] After approximately one year of development, the nymphs undergo their final moult and become adults, emerging from the water body in the spring or summer.

[6][15] However, some species with longer adult stages do feed, to maintain enough energy to both evade predators and find a mate.

[8] To attract a mate, males land on a rock or piece of vegetation near the water and produce sounds by striking their abdomen against an object of their choice.

[7] Once they locate each other, they mate, with the male depositing his sperm directly into the female's reproductive organs to fertilize her eggs.

[15] Chloroperlidae are polygynous, and males that emerge early are larger and more likely to be successful in reproducing with multiple females.

[8] However, as they mature, they typically become carnivores consuming chironomid midge, mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly larvae.

[8] Specifically for Isoptena serricornis, the diet of adults mostly contained pollen grains and some fungi, detritus and Cyanoprokaryota.