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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Caddisfly Family Limnephilidae (Giant Sedges)
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This is page 324 of specimens of Limnephilidae. Visit the main Limnephilidae page for:
- The behavior and habitat of Limnephilidae.
- 1 underwater picture of Limnephilidae.
Specimens of the Caddisfly Family Limnephilidae
14 Larvae
This caddis is one of the most abundant caddisflies in temporary ponds of Glacier Park. The larvae build a round case of detritus and dead plant material that can get quite large.
7 Female Adults
I've been hoping to add a really good October Caddis to the photo collection here for years, but so far I had struck out on finding them on the river. Tonight, this one flew into the kitchen during a pizza party at a house along the river, and was quickly pointed out -- one of the perks of hanging out with other aquatic biologists! Maybe next year I can finally get a salmonfly on taco night or something.
I had some trouble working through the genus key for this one because I'm not great at interpreting caddis wing venation. Fortunately, figure 19.707 in An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (Fifth Edition) shows the distinctive color pattern of the striking forewings on Hydatophylax argus, which is a perfect match for the pattern as well as venation. As there are no other species in that genus in this area, I can be pretty confident in the species ID.
This specimen is 26 mm.
- Entoman
- Entoman
This specimen was 22 mm.
4 Male Adults
I first just assumed this was Dicosmoecus based on anglers' conventional wisdom since it's a large orange "October caddis," but Creno set me straight. I should have keyed it out. After another look under the microscope, it lacks an anepisternal wart on the mesopleuron, which rules out Dicosmoecus. The midtibiae have 2 apical spurs and 1 pre-apical spur, and from there the color pattern of the wing points to Onocosmoecus. The location then narrows the species to unicolor.
This Psychoglypha adult was found clinging to my garage door in the evening on April 9, 2013. It measures 21 mm in length, from the front of head to the end of wings. It is my hope that Creno will be able to identify it to species based on the image of its genitalia. However, if other images are required for a species ID, the specimen is available, so they can be easily taken. Thanks, Roger Rohrbeck, Mercer Island, WA.
6 Adults
The setae on the wings make it a big tricky to identify this caddisfly from the "splayed wings" view because they obscure the venation, but several of the side views provide a good look at the important forewing veins. It keys pretty confidently to Ironoquia. Based on species ranges and a photo on BugGuide seemingly of this species and some alternatives, it seems Ironoquia lyrata is by far the most likely option.
References
- LaFontaine, Gary. 1981. Caddisflies. The Lyons Press.
- Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. 2019. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (Fifth Edition). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
- Schwiebert, Ernest G. 1955. Matching the Hatch. MacMillan Publishing Company.
- Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Animalia (Animals)
» Phylum
Arthropoda (Arthropods)
» Class
Insecta (Insects)
» Order
Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
» Family Limnephilidae (Giant Sedges)
32 genera (Allocosmoecus, Allomyia, Amphicosmoecus, Anabolia, Arctopora, Asynarchus, Chilostigma, Chilostigmodes, Clistoronia, Clostoeca, Crenophylax, Cryptochia, Desmona, Ecclisocosmoecus, Eocosmoecus, Glyphopsyche, Grensia, Halesochila, Homophylax, Lenarchus, Leptophylax, Madeophylax, Manophylax, Monophylax, Moselyana, Pedomoecus, Phanocelia, Philarctus, Philocasca, Pseudostenophylax, Psychoronia, and Sphagnophylax) aren't included.