Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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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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Updates from June 13, 2021
Photos by Troutnut from Spring Creek in Wisconsin
Closeup insects by Troutnut from Devil's Creek, the Teal River, and Spring Creek in Wisconsin
Updates from June 11, 2021
Closeup insects by Troutnut from the Teal River in Wisconsin
The setae on the wings make it a big tricky to identify this caddisfly from the "splayed wings" view because they obscure the venation, but several of the side views provide a good look at the important forewing veins. It keys pretty confidently to Ironoquia. Based on species ranges and a photo on BugGuide seemingly of this species and some alternatives, it seems Ironoquia lyrata is by far the most likely option.
Updates from June 10, 2021
Closeup insects by Troutnut from the Teal River in Wisconsin
I had some trouble working through the genus key for this one because I'm not great at interpreting caddis wing venation. Fortunately, figure 19.707 in An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (Fifth Edition) shows the distinctive color pattern of the striking forewings on Hydatophylax argus, which is a perfect match for the pattern as well as venation. As there are no other species in that genus in this area, I can be pretty confident in the species ID.
Updates from June 9, 2021
Closeup insects by Troutnut from the Teal River in Wisconsin
This is a tricky one to ID. The forewings seem to be on the low end of the "crossvein count" key characteristic. There are paired marginal intercalaries in the middle area of the fore wing (kind of visible in photos, verified 100 % under microscope), and the wing and its veins are pale. Keys would seem to point to Callibaetis pictus in this case, but several other characteristics including size don't fit (pictus is smaller), and this is a bit out of its range.
References
- Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. 2019. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (Fifth Edition). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.