Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin

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.

Looking across Island Lake toward the Titcomb Basin—one of the popular crown jewels of the Wind River Mountains

From Island Lake in Wyoming

Stream photos

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Neoleptophlebia Mayfly Nymph Neoleptophlebia Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Neoleptophlebia (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

Some characteristics from the microscope images for the tentative species id: The postero-lateral projections are found only on segment 9, not segment 8. Based on the key in Jacobus et al. (2014), it appears to key to Neoleptophlebia adoptiva or Neoleptophlebia heteronea, same as this specimen with pretty different abdominal markings. However, distinguishing between those calls for comparing the lengths of the second and third segment of the labial palp, and this one (like the other one) only seems to have two segments. So I'm stuck on them both. It's likely that the fact that they're immature nymphs stymies identification in some important way.

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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.

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Mayfly Species Anthopotamus neglectus (Golden Drakes)

According to Knopp & Cormier in Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera , this small species is "sometimes encountered by the fly fisher." I have read no other accounts of it.

Species Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

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 Potamanthus neglectus

Body length: 8 mm
Wing length: 8-9 mm

(Now known as Anthopotamus neglectus subspecies neglectus)

A very slender pale species; eyes of male very small; cross veins in wing disc black, in both sexes; tail joinings blackish.

Eyes very small, separated by a space 2.5 to 3 times diameter of eye. Ocelli white, black-ringed at base. Vertex of head reddish. Thorax whitish, with median reddish stripe. Fore legs yellowish; femur purplish at apex, tibia black-tipped, tarsal joinings fuscous. Middle and hind legs whitish. Wings hyaline, all longitudinal veins pale whitish. Cross veins in disc of each wing black; those of costal margin and outer margin of both wings, and posterior third of fore wing, colorless. Abdomen pale creamy white, segments 2-7 semi-hyaline, apical segments opaque, somewhat yellowish; reddish brown lateral spots as in verticis. Genitalia creamy white. Tails whitish, joinings distinctly but narrowly black.

Female very similar to male; cross veins of both wings black, as in male, including a few in basal half of costal margin of fore wing; fore femur less distinctly ferruginous at tip.

Start a Discussion of Anthopotamus neglectus

References

Caucci, Al and Nastasi, Bob. 2004. Hatches II. The Lyons Press.
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.
Knopp, Malcolm and Robert Cormier. 1997. Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera . The Lyons Press.
Needham, James G., Jay R. Traver, and Yin-Chi Hsu. 1935. The Biology of Mayflies. Comstock Publishing Company, Inc.