Mayfly Species Caenis tardata (Angler's Curses)

A species with short forceps; mesonotum deep brown, head blackish.

Head shaded heavily with blackish; eyes black, antennae pale. Pronotum pale with blackish shading, deepest in the dorsal area; traces of a narrow black line on the posterior margin dorsally, none on the lateral margins. Mesonotum deep brown; faint blackish markings on sutures and lateral margins; black shading on the scutellum. Pleura deep brown; a pale area anterior to the wing root is margined dorsally by a black streak; dark streaks also around the bases of the legs and along the anterior margin of the episternum. Sternum pale, tinged slightly with brown. Fore legs shaded with deep brown at the base; femora smoky, with a darker spot apically; tibiae and tarsi pale. Femora of middle and hind legs pale whitish; black spot on the outer side of each coxa, another at base on the inner side; a fine black dorso-apical streak on each femur, which may be reduced until it is almost invisible. Wings semi-hyaline whitish, subcosta and radius dark.

Abdominal tergites pale yellowish white; broad lateral blackish shading on tergites 1-6, separated by a pale median area; lateral margins pale, no stigmatic dots; posterior margins narrowly dark. Tergites 7 and 8 entirely pale; faint dark shading on 9 and 10, and a tiny median dot on 9. Sternites wholly pale yellowish white, sternite 9 slightly deeper in color, often with a faint smoky transverse streak in the median area near the posterior margin. Forceps and tails pale. Forceps short, rather blunt at the tip (see Pl. XXXIX).

The deep brown mesonotum and the blunt apex of the forceps distinguishes this species from others having short forceps.