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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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Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun Pictures

This specimen was collected on the same trip as a similar dun.

Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Lateral view of a Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Dorsal view of a Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Ventral view of a Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin

This mayfly was collected from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin on May 28th, 2005 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 24th, 2006.

Discussions of this Dun

How about a little discussion of this one?
2 replies
Posted by Oldredbarn on Apr 6, 2010
Last reply on Apr 6, 2010 by Martinlf
Jason, Taxon, Gonzo et al...

This one seems to have slipped through the id gauntlet...Does anyone want to hazzard a guess on the species level? BWO is a bit broad...

Spence

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Female Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun Pictures

Collection details
Location: Namekagon River, Wisconsin
Date: May 28th, 2005
Added to site: May 24th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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