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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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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Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult Pictures

I've been hoping to add a really good October Caddis to the photo collection here for years, but so far I had struck out on finding them on the river. Tonight, this one flew into the kitchen during a pizza party at a house along the river, and was quickly pointed out -- one of the perks of hanging out with other aquatic biologists! Maybe next year I can finally get a salmonfly on taco night or something.

Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Ventral view of a Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Dorsal view of a Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Ruler view of a Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1/16".
The tick marks here are 1/16th inch. I measured with a caliper that the fore wings were 27 mm long and the body was 21 mm long. Overall length was about 29 mm.

Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Artistic view of a Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington
Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (Limnephilidae) (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

This caddisfly was collected from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington on September 29th, 2017 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on September 29th, 2017.


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Female Dicosmoecus gilvipes (October Caddis) Caddisfly Adult Pictures

Collection details
Location: South Fork Snoqualmie River, Washington
Date: September 29th, 2017
Added to site: September 29th, 2017
Author: Troutnut
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