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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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 Genus Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges)

These caddisflies may be important to the winter angler because they are one of the only insects around. Gary LaFontaine relays an interesting correspondence about this genus in Caddisflies:

Dr. George Roemhild explained to me how he finds these winter caddisflies in February and March: "They crawl up on the snowbanks, but when the sun hits their dark wings they melt down out of sight. That's how I collect them, by walking along looking for holes in the snow."

I will keep an eye out this winter and hopefully collect some specimens to photograph.

Where & when

In 117 records from GBIF, adults of this genus have mostly been collected during October (18%), April (15%), May (14%), September (11%), March (11%), November (9%), June (5%), and December (5%).

In 50 records from GBIF, this genus has been collected at elevations ranging from 34 to 11499 ft, with an average (median) of 5719 ft.

Genus Range

Hatching behavior

Time of day : Warmest part of the day

Habitat: Warm shallows

On bright winter days when the trout move into the shallows to sun themselves, these caddisflies may pick the same destination to emerge and the trout will feed.

Larva & pupa biology

Diet: Leaf matter, algae, dead animals

The larvae are the most important stage of Psychoglypha. They are especially prone to behavioral drift and, unlike most species, they do it during the daytime.

Specimens of the Caddisfly Genus Psychoglypha

1 Male Adult
1 Female Adult

Start a Discussion of Psychoglypha

References

Caddisfly Genus Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges)

Taxonomy
12 species (Psychoglypha avigo, Psychoglypha bellus, Psychoglypha browni, Psychoglypha klamathi, Psychoglypha leechi, Psychoglypha mazamae, Psychoglypha ormiae, Psychoglypha pritus, Psychoglypha rossi, Psychoglypha schmidi, Psychoglypha schuhi, and Psychoglypha smithi) aren't included.
Genus Range
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