Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata
The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
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This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
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Brown Quill Spinners
Like most common names,"Brown Quill Spinner" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 5 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.
Mayfly Species Siphlonurus alternatus
These are sometimes called Brown Quill Spinners.
This species occasionally produces important spinner falls. Its spinners may join the swarms of Siphlonurus quebecensis or Siphlonurus rapidus, amplifying the importance of all three species.
I'm tentatively classifying this one as Siphlonurus alternatus, because it seems to fit that species best in the old keys in Needham's Biology of Mayflies, but I'm hesitant because I can't find documentation that southwest Montana or the surrounding area is within the species' range, although they are widely distributed throughout eastern North American and western Canada.
Mayfly Species Siphlonurus quebecensis
These are sometimes called Brown Quill Spinners.
This is the Siphlonurus species I have encountered most frequently on Eastern trout waters. I often find its spinners swarming in a mix with Siphlonurus alternatus, and I have read that Siphlonurus rapidus may join these groups as well.
This one hatched in my house after I brought some nymphs home to photograph.
See 4 more specimens...