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Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana
Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

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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Rhithrogena impersonata (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

This was the only Rhithrogena specimen in a large sample of nymphs from a small Catskill stream. It looks virtually identical to Rhithrogena impersonata specimens collected in the Midwest, but I didn't get to check the distinguishing features under a microscope.

Ruler view of a Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.
Ventral view of a Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York
Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York
Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York
This picture shows the characteristic gill structure of the Rhithrogena genus more clearly than the mature specimens of Rhithrogena impersonata that I collected back in the Midwest.  The "suction cup" gill structure is an adaptation to help the nymphs cling tight to rocks in fast water.

Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York
Dorsal view of a Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York

This mayfly was collected from Mongaup Creek in New York on April 19th, 2006 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on April 21st, 2006.

Discussions of this Nymph

identification needed
2 replies
Posted by Kinza on Feb 4, 2017
Last reply on Feb 6, 2017 by Crepuscular
Can you please identify the genus of Family Heptagenedae if I send you images?

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Rhithrogena impersonata (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

Collection details
Location: Mongaup Creek, New York
Date: April 19th, 2006
Added to site: April 21st, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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