Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Pupa Pictures
I photographed this one recently dead. It's hard to keep caddis pupae alive for very long in a collection container.
This caddisfly was collected from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin on May 18th, 2004 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on January 25th, 2006.
Discussions of this Pupa
Can you provide a size for this specimen?
5 replies
Posted by GONZO on Nov 8, 2006
Last reply on Jul 24, 2008 by GONZO
Jason-
I hate to ask you to dig through your specimen vials, but I'm curious to know if you can give a size reference for this one. I've stared at it many times. My first impression was Brachycentrus, but that impression was based entirely on color and markings. I haven't been able to find any definitive keys to verify this id (though I may be missing something).
May 18 does seem a little on the late side for most of the common Eastern/Midwestern Brachycentrus spp. But, we do have a peak emergence of a Micrasema sp. around that time on the Brodheads. This is the reason I was wondering about the size. I also wanted to call attention to this specimen in the hope that Litobrancha, Taxon, or someone else might be able to end my puzzlement.
I hate to ask you to dig through your specimen vials, but I'm curious to know if you can give a size reference for this one. I've stared at it many times. My first impression was Brachycentrus, but that impression was based entirely on color and markings. I haven't been able to find any definitive keys to verify this id (though I may be missing something).
May 18 does seem a little on the late side for most of the common Eastern/Midwestern Brachycentrus spp. But, we do have a peak emergence of a Micrasema sp. around that time on the Brodheads. This is the reason I was wondering about the size. I also wanted to call attention to this specimen in the hope that Litobrancha, Taxon, or someone else might be able to end my puzzlement.
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References
- Jacobus, L. M., Wiersema, N.A., and Webb, J.M. 2014. Identification of Far Northern and Western North American Mayfly Larvae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera), North of Mexico; Version 2. Joint Aquatic Science meeting, Portland, OR. Unpublished workshop manual. 1-176.
- Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. 2019. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (Fifth Edition). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Pupa Pictures
Collection details
Location: Namekagon River, Wisconsin
Date: May 18th, 2004
Added to site: January 25th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
Date: May 18th, 2004
Added to site: January 25th, 2006
Author: Troutnut