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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.
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Male Rhithrogena hageni (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

I collected this spinner from the trail (old logging road) above a whitewater canyon on a small stream in the Cascades. I'm using its positive ID to put a species ID on a female dun and [speclink id]1217]mature nymph collected on the same trip.

Lateral view of a Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Ruler view of a Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.
Ventral view of a Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Dorsal view of a Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Dorsal view

Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Ventral view, still attached, with claspers

Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Ventral view

Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Different specimen to show variation -- dorsal view.

Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Different specimen to show variation -- ventral view.

Male Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington

This mayfly was collected from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington on July 4th, 2020 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 12th, 2020.


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Male Rhithrogena hageni (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

Collection details
Location: Mystery Creek #249, Washington
Date: July 4th, 2020
Added to site: July 12th, 2020
Author: Troutnut
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