Blue-winged Olives
Baetis
Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.
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This specimen resembled several others of around the same size and perhaps the same species, which were pretty common in my February sample from the upper Yakima. Unfortunately, I misplaced the specimen before I could get it under a microscope for a definitive ID.
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Little Blue Mayflies
This common name refers to only one species. Click its scientific name to learn more.
Mayfly Species Neoleptophlebia adoptiva
These are very rarely called Little Blue Mayflies.
This is the best Spring hatch after the Quill Gordons (Epeorus pleuralis) but before the Hendricksons (Ephemerella subvaria) in most parts of the East, although it can overlap with both. The Blue Quills are small mayflies (hook size 16-20) but they can hatch in incredible numbers at a time when eager trout are just beginning to look to the surface after a hungry winter.
Based on the pale longitudinal forewing veins (excepting the costals), dark middle terga, and genitalia (Burks '53), this specimen is P. adoptiva.