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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
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.

Dorsal view of a Epeorus albertae (Heptageniidae) (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph from the East Fork Issaquah Creek in Washington
This specimen keys to the Epeorus albertae group of species. Of the five species in that group, the two known in Washington state are Epeorus albertae and Epeorus dulciana. Of the two, albertae has been collected in vastly more locations in Washington than dulciana, suggesting it is far more common. On that basis alone I'm tentatively putting this nymph in albertae, with the large caveat that there's no real information to rule out dulciana.
27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
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Male Glossosoma (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult Pictures

Key characteristics verified under the microscope:
-The head has 3 ocelli.
-Maxillary palp has 5 segments, with the second segment rounded. In some of the pictures it looks like 6 with the 3rd segment rounded, but the basal "segment" in that case isn't part of the palp.
-Foretibiae lack preapical spurs.
-Pronotum with mesal setose warts widely spaced.

All of this very clearly indicates Glossosomatidae. Beyond there:

-The tibial spur counts (fore / middle / hind tibiae) are 2, 4, and 4.
-From the pictures, the hind wing discoidal cell is closed, not open. Subfamily Glossosomatinae.
-The upper and lower parts of the mesepisternum are separated by a constriction, not a transverse suture. Microscope picture included.

This leads to a very confident genus ID of Glossosoma. I don't have the information to take it to species.

Lateral view of a Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
Ventral view of a Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
Ruler view of a Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.
Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
The closed discoidal cell in each hind wing is boxed in purple.

Dorsal view of a Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
Red boxes are placed around the setal warts on the pronotum, which are almost fully covered by other features. Yellow boxes highlight the difficult-to-see ocelli.

Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington
A box is placed around the constriction in the mesepisternum that separates the genus Glossosoma from a close relative.

Male Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Cedar River in Washington

This caddisfly was collected from the Cedar River in Washington on July 2nd, 2021 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 4th, 2021.


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Male Glossosoma (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Adult Pictures

Collection details
Location: Cedar River, Washington
Date: July 2nd, 2021
Added to site: July 4th, 2021
Author: Troutnut
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