Mayfly Species Caenis anceps (Angler's Curses)

Allied to C. ridens (now a synonym of Amercaenis ridens), but smaller, with brownish thorax and wholly pale abdomen; forceps short.

Head pale; a purplish black transverse band along the front margin of the vertex; another band, slightly paler and incomplete on the median line, between the eyes; posterior margin narrowly purplish black. Antennae pale. Pronotum pale, with faint darker shading laterally. Mesonotum light reddish brown, rather bright; median line very narrowly darker; faint darker shading on the postero-lateral margins of the scutellum. Pleura and metanotum paler reddish brown; blackish pencilings on the pleura anterior to the wing root, below the wing, and above the bases of the middle and hind legs. Sternum yellowish. Wings semi-hyaline whitish, the subcosta and radius purplish for most of their length. Legs whitish; fore femur with a darker band near the apex, fore tibia darker basally, so that the ‘knee’ appears purplish to dark smoky; middle and hind legs wholly pale, except that a very tiny black dorso-apical dot is present, in most specimens, on the femora. Abdomen wholly whitish, somewhat yellow-tinged apically; without stigmatic markings or darker shading on any segment. Forceps and tails whitish; forceps relatively short.

Female similar to male, except that the mesonotum is paler reddish brown, the median line not darker; pleura paler, more yellowish, than in male; middle and hind femora often lack the black dorso-apical dot.