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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I caught this tiny larva without a case, but it seems to key pretty clearly to to Glossosomatidae. From there, the lack of sclerites on the mesonotum points to either Glossosoma or Anagapetus. Although it's difficult to see in a 2D image from the microscope, it's pretty clear in the live 3D view that the pronotum is only excised about 1/3 of its length to accommodate the forecoxa, not 2/3, which points to Glossosoma at Couplet 5 of the Key to Genera of Glossosomatidae Larvae.
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Caddisfly Genus Ceraclea (Scaly-Wing Sedges)
Ceraclea caddisflies are not ranked among the superhatches, but they may cause selective feeding at times. Ceraclea transversa is the most important species.
Where & when
Time of year : Early summer for most species
Preferred waters: Rivers or lakes
In 649 records from GBIF, adults of this genus have mostly been collected during June (31%), July (31%), August (18%), and May (14%).
In 253 records from GBIF, this genus has been collected at elevations ranging from -30 to 7546 ft, with an average (median) of 942 ft.
Genus Range
Hatching behavior
Gary LaFontaine notes in Caddisflies that Ceraclea species become active a little earlier in the evening than most other caddisflies in the same days, sometimes prompting trout to take them selectively before the other flies have even appeared.Egg-Laying behavior
Time of day: Late afternoon and evening
Larva & pupa biology
Environmental tolerance: Requires cool water
Start a Discussion of Ceraclea
References
- LaFontaine, Gary. 1981. Caddisflies. The Lyons Press.
- Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.
Caddisfly Genus Ceraclea (Scaly-Wing Sedges)
Taxonomy
Species in Ceraclea
Ceraclea maculata
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Ceraclea resurgens
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Ceraclea tarsipunctata
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Ceraclea transversa
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Ceraclea wetzeli
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Species in Ceraclea: Ceraclea maculata, Ceraclea resurgens, Ceraclea tarsipunctata, Ceraclea transversa, Ceraclea wetzeli
33 species (Ceraclea alabamae, Ceraclea alagmus, Ceraclea albostictus, Ceraclea alces, Ceraclea ancylus, Ceraclea annulicornis, Ceraclea arielles, Ceraclea brevis, Ceraclea cama, Ceraclea cancellatus, Ceraclea cophus, Ceraclea daggyi, Ceraclea dilutus, Ceraclea erraticus, Ceraclea erullus, Ceraclea excisus, Ceraclea flavus, Ceraclea floridanus, Ceraclea latahensis, Ceraclea maccalmonti, Ceraclea mentieus, Ceraclea neffi, Ceraclea nephus, Ceraclea nigronervosa, Ceraclea ophioderus, Ceraclea protonepha, Ceraclea punctata, Ceraclea ruthae, Ceraclea slossonae, Ceraclea spongillovorax, Ceraclea submacula, Ceraclea uvalo, and Ceraclea vertreesi) aren't included.