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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.

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.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Stonefly Family Capniidae (Snowflies)

These are the first stoneflies of the year to appear in most parts of the country, and often the first aquatic insects noticed by the angler. Their dark brown or black bodies are easy to spot against the snowbanks where they crawl around.

Capnia in the West and Allocapnia in the East are probably the most common genera of this prolific family.

Where & when

Time of year : Late winter to mid-spring

In 708 records from GBIF, adults of this family have mostly been collected during March (29%), February (24%), January (18%), April (12%), and December (10%).

In 93 records from GBIF, this family has been collected at elevations ranging from 125 to 8648 ft, with an average (median) of 3212 ft.

Family Range

Specimens of the Stonefly Family Capniidae

1 Female Adult
3 Adults
6 Nymphs

Discussions of Capniidae

Little Black Stonefly pics
12 replies
Posted by Adirman on Apr 14, 2018 in the species Allocapnia granulata
Last reply on Apr 21, 2018 by Martinlf
Hey guys, went out on the Neversink for awhile today and had a look around, saw a lot of little dark flies, may be the little black stone fly? Hard to tell cuz looked like Caddis too. Looks like about a size 16? Any pics of available of this species would be great.


Thanks
little black stoneflies
5 replies
Posted by CaseyP on Nov 28, 2012
Last reply on Nov 29, 2012 by Entoman
in the winter, we here in the east are told that little black stoneflies might be hatching, so we tie up neat little tiny black things to represent the dries. can anyone steer me to a proper pattern for the nymphs? or is any dark quite small generic nymph going to do the job?

and surely they have a sexy Latin name...
Winter Stones and the like
3 replies
Posted by DarkDun on Nov 20, 2006
Last reply on May 21, 2008 by Greenwolly
I like your site and all it offers. Would like you to come on down to the Southeast and identify our species of mayflies, caddis and plecoptera. Ours are a bit different in makeup than elsewhere and really need cataloging. We constantly are trying to compare our species to the northern hatches and it does not fit into their pattern. We are a month ahead of everywhere else and twice as long in many cases. Some hatches seem to be identifiable and then some defy easy categorization.

DarkDun


Start a Discussion of Capniidae

References

Stonefly Family Capniidae (Snowflies)

Family Range
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