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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.

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 Diphetor hageni (Little Blue-Winged Olives)

This is one of the most important species of the Baetidae family. It is distributed across the country but most of its fame comes from excellent hatches in the West. Prior to many other former species being combined with Baetis tricaudatus, most angling literature considered it the most populous and widespread western species of the Baetidae family.

Taxonomic History

This species was previously known and mentioned in the angling literature as Baetis parvus in the West and Baetis devinctus in the East.

Where & when

Time of year : April and May, then another brood in September and October; sometimes another intermediate brood

Preferred waters: Fertile streams

In 14 records from GBIF, adults of this species have been collected during June (29%), April (29%), July (14%), August (14%), December (7%), and May (7%).

In 8 records from GBIF, this species has been collected at elevations ranging from 700 to 8871 ft, with an average (median) of 5420 ft.

Species Range

Hatching behavior

The nymphs and duns are both important during this hatch.

Spinner behavior

Fred Arbona in Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout describes peculiar spinner behavior in this species:

Spinners gather in the mornings or evenings, and their tight swarms can be observed over the banks of the stream. After mating, the spinners suddenly vanish and reappear spent on the water.

Nymph biology

These nymphs are very versatile: cold or warm water, slow or fast water, spring creeks and freestone streams.

Identification

Dorsal abdominal markings on the nymphs used to differentiate the species in these older publications have since proved unreliable. The easiest way to tell them apart from B. tricaudatus is their lack of gills on the first abdominal segment. Telling adults apart is equally tough. Duns of D. hageni are typically a little smaller, but their bodies can also be olive, brownish olive and even two toned with thoraxes a shade of brown or tan with paler olivacious abdomens.

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 Baetis devinctus
Body length: 5-5.5 mm
Wing length: 5-5.5 mm

Abdominal tergites 2-6 of male imago hyaline whitish; genitalia of the Baetis intercalaris type, tubercle present on inner margin of basal forceps joint. Second vein of hind wing forked near base.

Head and antennae light red-brown. Turbinate eyes moderate in size; stalk yellowish, upper surface pale orange in alcoholic specimens. Thoracic notum rather dark reddish brown; margins of scutellum blackish. Pleura and sternum somewhat paler red-brown; intersegmental areas of pleura yellowish. Legs whitish; fore femora yellowish, other femora faintly yellow-tinged; coxae reddish brown. Wings hyaline, venation pale. A faint cloud in the stigmatic area of the fore wing; cross veins 6-8 in number; aslant, no apparent tendency to fork, sometimes incomplete toward the subcosta; between them, many granulations. Marginal intercalaries much as in B. parvus (now a synonym of Diphetor hageni). Hind wing very similar to that of parvus (see fig. 163).)

Basal segment of abdomen dark reddish brown dorsally, paler ventrally. Abdominal segments 2-6 hyaline, white. Spiracles outlined in black; geminate blackish tracings along the entire spiracular area; on the basal sternites especially, short oblique branches extend out from the main spiracular line. Segments 7-10 light reddish brown, opaque; sternites slightly paler than tergites; posterior margins of tergites and sternites darker red-brown, presenting an annulate appearance. Tails and forceps white. At the inner apical margin of the basal forceps joint is a distinct tubercle or inward projection; inner margin of this joint somewhat irregular. Apical joint of forceps relatively shorter than in parvus, being about one-third the length of the penultimate one (see fig. 164).

Described as B. parvus

Body length 5.5 mm, wing length 5-5.5 mm

Abdominal tergites 2-6 of male imago hyaline, whitish, unmarked; genitalia of the Baetis intercalaris type, no tubercle on inner apical margin of first forceps joint. Second vein of hind wing forked near base.

Head and thorax deep blackish brown; filament of antenna paler. Turbinate eyes moderate in size; both stalk and upper surface dark orange brown, in dried specimens. Paler red-brown areas on pleura below the wings; tip of scutellum paler brown. Legs whitish. Wings hyaline, venation pale. 5-8 cross veins in the stigmatic area of the fore wing, often with short horizontal veins between them, aslant, often incomplete on the subcostal margin, sometimes forking toward the subcosta. Usually one short intercalary in the first interspace; those of the second interspace slightly shorter than the following pairs. Hind wing unusually wide for its length; costal projection well developed. Three longitudinal veins, the second forked near the base; one long intercalary in this fork (usually also a pair of short intercalaries just below the anterior branch, not shown in Dr. Dodds’ sketch; traces of another short one between the long intercalary and the posterior branch, in some specimens).

Basal tergite of abdomen wholly dark brown, sternite somewhat paler. Abdominal segments 2-6 hyaline white; usually no dark spiracular markings. Tergites 7-10 opaque, brown; wholly or in part suffused with deep rose-color. Sternites opaque creamy white, more or less shaded and marked with rose. Tails white. No tubercle or projection on the inner apical margin of the basal forceps joint. Apical joint of forceps fully half as long as the penultimate one.

The forked second vein of the hind wing distinguishes this species from all other described North American species excepting B. devinctus (now a synonym of Diphetor hageni); the presence of a well-developed tubercle on the inner margin of the basal forceps joint, as well as the paler thorax, separates devinctus from parvus.

Female Spinner

Described in Needham et al (1935) as Baetis devinctus
Body length: 5 mm
Wing length: 5 mm

Head of female yellowish. Thorax reddish brown. Legs wholly pale whitish. Abdomen yellowish, the tergites more or lees washed with pale purplish or rose-tinged brown: intersegmental areas pale.

Specimens of the Mayfly Species Diphetor hageni

1 Nymph

Start a Discussion of Diphetor hageni

References

Mayfly Species Diphetor hageni (Little Blue-Winged Olives)

Taxonomy
Species Range
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