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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 Grammotaulius betteni (Limnephilidae) (Northern Caddisfly) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
This is a striking caddis larva with an interesting color pattern on the head. Here are some characteristics I was able to see under the microscope, but could not easily expose for a picture:
- The prosternal horn is present.
- The mandible is clearly toothed, not formed into a uniform scraper blade.
- The seems to be only 2 major setae on the ventral edge of the hind femur.
- Chloride epithelia seem to be absent from the dorsal side of any abdominal segments.
Based on these characteristics and the ones more easily visible from the pictures, this seems to be Grammotaulius. The key's description of the case is spot-on: "Case cylindrical, made of longitudinally arranged sedge or similar leaves," as is the description of the markings on the head, "Dorsum of head light brownish yellow with numerous discrete, small, dark spots." The spot pattern on the head is a very good match to figure 19.312 of Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019). The species ID is based on Grammotaulius betteni being the only species of this genus known in Washington state.
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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Martinlf has attached these 11 pictures. The message is below.
King snake on the move.
Sunset at Fool Hollow Lake.
Fish on.
Marv and a Pretty Bow.
Lee's Ferry Canyon Cliffs.
Glen Canyon Dam.
Another Lee's Ferry Shot.
Final Canyon Shot at Lee's Ferry.
The Little Colorado River.
Vermillion Cliffs and Kayaks.
Vermillion Cliffs sans Kayaks.
Martinlf
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Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on May 29, 2016May 29th, 2016, 12:41 pm EDT
A few more shots of Arizona for Bruce.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Jmd123
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Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on May 29, 2016May 29th, 2016, 5:13 pm EDT
Amazing, Louis, amazing! "I'm a crawlin' king snake..."

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Martinlf
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Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Jun 5, 2016June 5th, 2016, 7:15 am EDT
Yeah, thankfully we didn't see any rattlers--or run into Africanized bees. They killed a hiker recently in AZ!
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Jmd123
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Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Jun 5, 2016June 5th, 2016, 12:43 pm EDT
Scary. Michigan is cold enough to kill all of those things, except for the now rare Massassauga rattler. Let me tell you how rare the poor things are around here: I've spent most of my life in Michigan, and most of my life in the woods, and I've NEVER seen one in the wild, even in places where others have told me that they're "common".

I will tell you this - I ran into fire ants in Texas and I'm REALLLY glad it's too cold for them here...I used to go out on the coldest days of the year (barely below 32 F) and kick all of their little mounds open so they would die in the cold before they could repair them. Thought about boiling water or bleach too...


Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...

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