Iron Blue Quills
Like most common names,"Iron Blue Quill" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 5 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.
These are often called Iron Blue Quills.
This is one of the most important species of the
Baetidae family. It is distributed across the country but most of its fame comes from excellent hatches in the West. Prior to many other former species being combined with
Baetis tricaudatus, most angling literature considered it the most populous and widespread western species of the
Baetidae family.
These are often called Iron Blue Quills.
This large western baetid is in the
Rhodani group of closely related species that could probaly also be called the
Baetis tricaudatus species complex. Besides its large overall size, large
hind wings (for a baetid) with rounded margins and dark
lateral bands of pigment on the
abdomen are are also characteristic.
These are sometimes called Iron Blue Quills.
This species was previously known as
Baetis propinquus, a name from older nomenclatures and angling literature familiar to many western anglers. Prior to its current listing, it did a brief stint in the genus
Pseudocloeon. The irony is that though this species has
hind wings, it was the last species remaining in
Pseudocloeon (before the genus recent
Nearctic taxonomic demise) which was best known for its species
lacking hind wings as an identifying character.
Though it has a national distribution its most important hatches occur in the West, usually hatching between the larger broods of
Baetis tricaudatus. Western anglers experiencing a hatch can easily confuse them with the larger
Baetis bicaudatus as both nymphs appear similar with only two tails. Besides size, the adults can be separated from
bicaudatus (with the help of a little magnification) because
L. propinquus lacks acute
costal projections on its tiny
hind wings. Conversely, the presence of
hind wings and lack of
conical mesonotal projections makes them easy to tell from the more common and equally tiny
Acentrella turbida.
These are sometimes called Iron Blue Quills.
Baetis tricaudatus is undeniably the most widespread and abundant baetid on the continent and arguably the most important mayfly species to trout and anglers alike. Eastern anglers used to know these important mayflies by the storied name of
Baetis vagans. Conversely, the usually much larger and late Fall hatching brood of
Baetis tricaudatus was considered an important Western species with its own tradition. But, entomologists recently determined that they are both in fact the same species. The nomenclature conventions guiding entomologists do not account for a name's regional fame among fishermen, and new or obscure species names may replace their old favorites. Sometimes taxa with disparate traditions are combined.
Baetis vagans is one such casualty. Fortunately, trout think like Shakespeare:
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The rose that was
vagans has lost none of its charm. This species is
multibrooded with the hatches of Spring being larger flies. As the weather warms the following broods are composed of progressively smaller flies. In the East, they range in size from 16 to 20. In the West, they may run a size larger.
These are very rarely called Iron Blue Quills.
References
Allen RK. 1977.
New species of Ephemerella (Ephemerella) from Alberta (Ephemeroptera: Ephemerellidae). The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 53: 286-286.