Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata
The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
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This one seems to lead to Couplet 35 of the Key to Genera of Perlodidae Nymphs and the genus Isoperla, but I'm skeptical that's correct based on the general look. I need to get it under the microscope to review several choices in the key, and it'll probably end up a different Perlodidae.
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Mayfly Genus Caudatella
This Western genus is unimportant, but Caudatella heterocaudata and Caudatella hystrix are said to sometimes produce fishable hatches.
Genus Range
Identification
To further identify a specimen of Caudatella to the species level, use the Key to Species of Caudatella Nymphs.
Specimens of the Mayfly Genus Caudatella
1 Male Dun
A few days after unexpectedly collecting a female dun of this species, but in a sad, bedraggled shape, I went back to the same pool to see if I could find more. I was able to catch this one male dun during a dusk emergence dominated by other species, and he made it home in prime shape for photos.
2 Female Duns
These duns were emerging sporadically throughout a cloudy evening at the end of June. Had I looked more closely when I caught this one and realized it represented my first collection of this genus, or just noticed the really striking coloration, I would have set my fly rod on shore and spent more time lurking mid-river with my net trying to catch more of them emerging (and at least one in better shape).
It's always a bit difficult to identify a female dun, but in this case the three longitudinal stripes on the sternites are very distinctive and narrow the choices to Caudatella heterocaudata and Caudatella columbiella. However, the length of the fore wing measured with a caliper is 7.25 mm, whereas columbiella should be no more than 6 mm, so heterocaudata appears to be the correct ID.
It's always a bit difficult to identify a female dun, but in this case the three longitudinal stripes on the sternites are very distinctive and narrow the choices to Caudatella heterocaudata and Caudatella columbiella. However, the length of the fore wing measured with a caliper is 7.25 mm, whereas columbiella should be no more than 6 mm, so heterocaudata appears to be the correct ID.
1 Male Spinner
2 Nymphs
This is a widely distributed species in western Montana but never abundant. Note the length of the middle tail, a key to the identification of this genus.
This species was previously know only from the nymph. I reared nymphs and we described the adults and eggs of this interesting species.
Discussions of Caudatella
species taxonomy
3 replies
Posted by Konchu on Oct 29, 2010
Last reply on Oct 30, 2010 by Taxon
The paper is in press now, so I can share an updated taxonomic synopsis of the "unimportant" genus Caudatella. Have fun.
Caudatella edmundsi (Allen, 1959)
Caudatella columbiella (McDunnough, 1935), comb. n.
= Ephemerella californica Allen and Edmunds, 1961, stat. n., syn. n.
Caudatella heterocaudata (McDunnough, 1929)
= Ephemerella circia Allen and Edmunds, 1961, stat. n., syn. n.
Caudatella hystrix (Traver, 1934)
= Ephemerella spinosa Mayo, 1952
= Ephemerella cascadia Allen and Edmunds, 1961
Caudatella jacobi (McDunnough, 1939)
= Ephemerella orestes Allen and Edmunds, 1961
Caudatella edmundsi (Allen, 1959)
Caudatella columbiella (McDunnough, 1935), comb. n.
= Ephemerella californica Allen and Edmunds, 1961, stat. n., syn. n.
Caudatella heterocaudata (McDunnough, 1929)
= Ephemerella circia Allen and Edmunds, 1961, stat. n., syn. n.
Caudatella hystrix (Traver, 1934)
= Ephemerella spinosa Mayo, 1952
= Ephemerella cascadia Allen and Edmunds, 1961
Caudatella jacobi (McDunnough, 1939)
= Ephemerella orestes Allen and Edmunds, 1961
Start a Discussion of Caudatella
References
- Caucci, Al and Nastasi, Bob. 2004. Hatches II. The Lyons Press.
- Knopp, Malcolm and Robert Cormier. 1997. Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera . The Lyons Press.
Mayfly Genus Caudatella
Taxonomy
Species in Caudatella
Caudatella columbiella
0
0
Caudatella edmundsi
2
3
Caudatella heterocaudata
2
13
Caudatella hystrix
2
4
Caudatella jacobi
0
0
Species in Caudatella: Caudatella columbiella, Caudatella edmundsi, Caudatella heterocaudata, Caudatella hystrix, Caudatella jacobi