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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 Neoleptophlebia (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
Some characteristics from the microscope images for the tentative species id: The postero-lateral projections are found only on segment 9, not segment 8. Based on the key in Jacobus et al. (2014), it appears to key to Neoleptophlebia adoptiva or Neoleptophlebia heteronea, same as this specimen with pretty different abdominal markings. However, distinguishing between those calls for comparing the lengths of the second and third segment of the labial palp, and this one (like the other one) only seems to have two segments. So I'm stuck on them both. It's likely that the fact that they're immature nymphs stymies identification in some important way.
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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Rhithrogena hageni (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

I'm basing the ID of this near-mature nymph on a male spinner with similar size and markings, collected on the same trip. There isn't a key to reliably identify the nymphs of most Rhithrogena species otherwise.

Dorsal view of a Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Ventral view of a Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Body 11 mm long

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

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