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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 Procloeon (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun Pictures

This dun of a fairly large Baetidae species was one of only a couple I saw all evening.

Lateral view of a Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Dorsal view of a Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Ventral view of a Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York
Ruler view of a Female Procloeon (Baetidae) (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun from Enfield Creek in New York The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

This mayfly was collected from Enfield Creek in New York on August 24th, 2006 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on August 27th, 2006.

Discussions of this Dun

Centroptilum or Procloeon?
22 replies
Posted by Troutnut on Aug 27, 2006
Last reply on Nov 10, 2015 by Sherryspinn
This dun seems to belong to one of those two genera. Does anybody know how to tell them apart? I can't find anything that doesn't require a male spinner.
Hind wings?
6 replies
Posted by Taxon on Aug 27, 2006
Last reply on Jul 14, 2011 by Troutnut
Jason-

My belief is that Plauditus, Pseudocloeon, and Procloeon are the Baetids absent hind wings, whereas Centroptilum (among the others) has minute hind wings. If I am correct, then given the choice you posed, that would make your specimen Centroptilum. This is (of course) strictly based on my having successfully digested the "available literature", and as I remember, there was a bit of inconsistency between authors in that area, so I probably chose to believe whichever one (or ones) I believed to have more credibility. Does any of this sound familiar?

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Female Procloeon (Tiny Sulphur Dun) Mayfly Dun Pictures

Collection details
Location: Enfield Creek, New York
Date: August 24th, 2006
Added to site: August 27th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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