Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

Turquoise view of Upper Titcomb Lake

From Titcomb Basin in Wyoming

Stream photos

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Psychodidae True Fly Larva Psychodidae True Fly Larva

Lateral view of a Psychodidae True Fly Larva from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington

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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27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Mayfly Species Metretopus borealis (Pseudo-Gray Drakes)

Where & when

In 32 records from GBIF, adults of this species have mostly been collected during July (38%), August (28%), June (25%), and September (6%).

In 279 records from GBIF, this species has been collected at elevations ranging from -30 to 3524 ft, with an average (median) of 919 ft.

Species Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

Physical description

Most physical descriptions on Troutnut are direct or slightly edited quotes from the original scientific sources describing or updating the species, although there may be errors in copying them to this website. Such descriptions aren't always definitive, because species often turn out to be more variable than the original describers observed. In some cases, only a single specimen was described! However, they are useful starting points.

Male Spinner

Described in Needham et al (1935) as Metretopus norvegicus

Body length: 10 mm
Wing length: 9 mm

A brownish species, the middle abdominal segments of the male translucent; only species of the genus known in North America.

Thorax pitch-black above. Body somewhat discolored. Abdominal segment 1, and segments 7-10, bistre brown; the middle segments translucent. Posterior margins of tergites narrowly marked with umber brown. Mid-dorsal line of the same color, also “an oblique linear lanceolate streak on each side produced forwards from it, so as to constitute a tridentate marking, enclosing on each side of the dorsum a large almost right-angled triangular translucent space, rounded at the posterior angle, the shortest side of which is at the base of the segment. From the right angle of this triangle a fine tapering blackish streak proceeds towards the middle of the hypotenuse” (Eaton). Tails uniformly dark grey. The apical margin of the ninth sternite of the female is entire, and convex. The penes are divided half way to the base; each free portion is rather linear, and directed slightly outward, having a rounded lobe on the inner apical margin (see fig. 114).