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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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.
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Arthropod Class Arachnida (Mites and Spiders)
These occasionally aquatic creatures are not known to be particularly important to trout, but I have a few neat pictures.
Specimens of the Arthropod Class Arachnida
4 Adults
These tiny little aquatic mites show up in my samples from time to time. This fairly large one is only about 1mm long, so these aren't relevant to trout, but it's interesting to know that they're down there, anyway.
Water mites are common in lakes and ponds but because they are so small they do not get noticed.These specimens are from temporary wetlands in Glacier National Park.
1 Nymph
Mites are quite beautiful when viewed with magnification. Some get large like the middle photo which is of a red mite about the size of a pea.
2 Streamside Pictures of Arachnida Arthropods:
This spider lives in the rocks streambed of a Catskill trout stream.
In this picture: Arthropod Order Araneae (Spider).
1 Underwater Picture of Arachnida Arthropods:
A couple tiny aquatic mites are clinging to this rock.
In this picture: Arthropod Order Acari (Mite).
Discussions of Arachnida
chuck
1 replies
Last reply on Aug 20, 2008 by GONZO
I have these Arthropod Order Araneae (Spiders) all over my property last weekend in West Kill NY. Are they poisonous? Do they live in the creek? Are they coming out of the creek to hatch because each one had a wed and egg sacks inside. They are big! Any thing interesting or warnings about these, I'd like to know.
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References
- Jacobus, L. M., Wiersema, N.A., and Webb, J.M. 2014. Identification of Far Northern and Western North American Mayfly Larvae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera), North of Mexico; Version 2. Joint Aquatic Science meeting, Portland, OR. Unpublished workshop manual. 1-176.
- 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.