Female Timpanoga hecuba (Great Red Quill) Mayfly Dun Pictures

This critter provided some excellent fishing a little after lunch the day this specimen was collected. They seem to be very delicate in handling as it expired inverted in the fly box while setting up for the photos. On this particular day the duns were up and away with little if any time spent on the water. The fish were feeding on ascending nymphs well below the surface. The hatch was a perfect fishing density and the fish were glutted with these large guys. To the naked eye they appeared chocolate brown with tan rings. The wings were a med. dun. Notice how stout their tapered abdomens are... Real chunks of protein!

The duns did not darken as they aged and as the photos show, there is little (if any) difference in the appearance between the dorsal and ventral surfaces. Very unusual for an ephemerellid...