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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.

Dorsal view of a Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
I caught this tiny larva without a case, but it seems to key pretty clearly to to Glossosomatidae. From there, the lack of sclerites on the mesonotum points to either Glossosoma or Anagapetus. Although it's difficult to see in a 2D image from the microscope, it's pretty clear in the live 3D view that the pronotum is only excised about 1/3 of its length to accommodate the forecoxa, not 2/3, which points to Glossosoma at Couplet 5 of the Key to Genera of Glossosomatidae Larvae.
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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Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni Mayfly Spinner Pictures

This specimen (and a few others I collected but didn't photograph) appear to represent the first finding of Paraleptophlebia sculleni outside the Oregon Cascades, although it is not a monumental leap from there to the Washington Cascades. The key characteristics are fairly clear.

Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Dorsal view of a Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
This specimen had three fragile tails, one of which came off during handling.

Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Ventral view of a Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
This ventral view matches Figure 14 from Harper and Harper 1986, leading to the identification of Paraleptophlebia sculleni.

Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Ruler view of a Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.
Lateral view of a Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington

This mayfly was collected from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington on July 25th, 2019 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 26th, 2019.


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Male Paraleptophlebia sculleni Mayfly Spinner Pictures

Collection details
Location: Mystery Creek #249, Washington
Date: July 25th, 2019
Added to site: July 26th, 2019
Author: Troutnut
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