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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As far as I can tell, this species has only previously been reported from one site in Oregon along the Columbia gorge. However, the key characteristics are fairly unmistakable in all except for one minor detail:
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
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Updates from September 14, 2011
Closeup insects by Bnewell from the Touchet River in Washington
Updates from September 8, 2011
Closeup insects by Bnewell from the Touchet River in Washington
Updates from September 4, 2011
Closeup insects by Bnewell from the Touchet River in Washington
A couple nighttime pictures of the Gulkana River
By Troutnut on August 12th, 2011
I left Chitina around 8pm after 12 hours dipnetting and 2 hours cleaning fish, then drove north toward home for 4 hours before stopping to "car camp" at the same Gulkana River access I photographed on my trip down. First, I took a few minutes to work on my nighttime river photography under the full moon.
Photos by Troutnut from the Gulkana River in Alaska
