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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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Male Ameletus suffusus (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

A few of these nymphs turned up in my kick net sample, with this being the only one fully mature and ready to emerge. It keys pretty straightforwardly to Ameletus suffusus, particularly because of the triangular dark patch on the labrum. The abdominal markings are close but don't quite match other drawings, likely just individual variation.

Dorsal view of a Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington
Ventral view of a Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington
Ruler view of a Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.
Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington
Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington
Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington
Closeup of the mouthparts with a box around the triangular shape on the labrum that identifies this species.

Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington
Closeup of the left gill from abdominal segment 5

Male Ameletus suffusus (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Cedar River in Washington

This mayfly was collected from the Cedar River in Washington on July 2nd, 2021 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 4th, 2021.


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Male Ameletus suffusus (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

Collection details
Location: Cedar River, Washington
Date: July 2nd, 2021
Added to site: July 4th, 2021
Author: Troutnut
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