Heptagenia pulla (Golden Dun) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

This specimen is interesting because Heptagenia pulla has not been reported from Washington or neighboring states (Saskatchewan is the closest), yet the distinctive key characteristics are clear. Furthermore, it might even be a species not listed on this site—Jacobus et al. (2014) writes, "the northern and western specimens of H. pulla may in fact be a synonym of the Palearctic species H. dalecarlica Bengtsson (Kjaerstad et al. 2012) and the true H. pulla may be restricted to eastern North America."

It keys to the genus Heptagenia because the tarsal claw has a single basal tooth, and the gills on segment 7 have fibrils.

For the species key in Jacobus et al. (2014):
1. The left mandible is planate, whereas the right mandible is angulate.
2. The labrum is much wider than long.
3. There's a thin light-colored streak lateral to the eye on the head.

This mayfly was collected from the Yakima River in Washington on April 9th, 2021 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on April 12th, 2021.

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References