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.
Common Names of Trout Stream Insects
Common Names of Trout Stream Insects
Common names are more confusing than Latin names, because there are usually many names for each bug and many bugs for each name. People like them anyway. Most of these names are better for talking about body colors (like Sulphur) or fly patterns (like Adams) than for discussing actual insect species. A common name might tell you roughly what an insect looks like. A few of them can tell you what species you're dealing with, especially if you're familiar with your area's hatches and what people call them. However, many common names aren't even common—they were just made up by authors trying to name a species for readers they imagine are deathly allergic to Latin, as if "pale white-winged watery dun" is really any more common in streamside conversations than Anafroptilum.