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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
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.

Dorsal view of a Neoleptophlebia (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
Some characteristics from the microscope images for the tentative species id: The postero-lateral projections are found only on segment 9, not segment 8. Based on the key in Jacobus et al. (2014), it appears to key to Neoleptophlebia adoptiva or Neoleptophlebia heteronea, same as this specimen with pretty different abdominal markings. However, distinguishing between those calls for comparing the lengths of the second and third segment of the labial palp, and this one (like the other one) only seems to have two segments. So I'm stuck on them both. It's likely that the fact that they're immature nymphs stymies identification in some important way.
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.
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Caddisfly Species Hydropsyche occidentalis (Spotted Sedges)

Where & when

Time of year : Early Summer

Gary LaFontaine notes in Caddisflies that this prolific Western species tends to be on the water at the same time as Drunella grandis, the Western Green Drake.

In 114 records from GBIF, adults of this species have mostly been collected during July (24%), June (21%), August (18%), May (14%), September (11%), and April (10%).

In 93 records from GBIF, this species has been collected at elevations ranging from 131 to 8914 ft, with an average (median) of 5194 ft.

Species Range

Specimens of the Caddisfly Species Hydropsyche occidentalis

1 Adult

Start a Discussion of Hydropsyche occidentalis

References

Caddisfly Species Hydropsyche occidentalis (Spotted Sedges)

Taxonomy
Species Range
Common Name
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