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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.

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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Isoperla (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult Pictures

Several stoneflies of this species were flying around a small stream last night. I tied on a brown drake imitation of about the right size/color to approximate these stones, and was rewarded with a hard-fighting 17-inch brown trout.

Lateral view of a Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Ventral view of a Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Dorsal view of a Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York
Ruler view of a Isoperla (Perlodidae) (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult from Cayuta Creek in New York The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

This stonefly was collected from Cayuta Creek in New York on July 7th, 2006 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on July 8th, 2006.

Discussions of this Adult

Chloroperlidae
3 replies
Posted by Teamrenna on Jun 12, 2008
Last reply on Sep 9, 2008 by GONZO
Edit: Post removed
Family ID for this one?
2 replies
Posted by Troutnut on Jul 30, 2006
Last reply on Jul 30, 2006 by Troutnut
I haven't had time to look through my stonefly keys yet. It's a pretty small yellow fly, so I'm guessing Chloroperlidae, though I have no real reason to rule out Perlodidae.

I've saved it in alcohol to key out under a microscope at some later date, but it'll be a while before I have time.

Start a Discussion of Adult

Isoperla (Stripetails and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Adult Pictures

Collection details
Location: Cayuta Creek, New York
Date: July 7th, 2006
Added to site: July 8th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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