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.

I spent more than an hour casting to several rising trout in this pool and caught only two. Its clear water and tricky currents harbor dozens of free-rising, usually very hard-to-catch fish.

From Enfield Creek in New York

Stream photos

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Glossosoma (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva Glossosoma (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

I caught this tiny larva without a case, but it seems to key pretty clearly to to Glossosomatidae. From there, the lack of sclerites on the mesonotum points to either Glossosoma or Anagapetus. Although it's difficult to see in a 2D image from the microscope, it's pretty clear in the live 3D view that the pronotum is only excised about 1/3 of its length to accommodate the forecoxa, not 2/3, which points to Glossosoma at Couplet 5 of the Key to Genera of Glossosomatidae Larvae.

11 Recently Added Photos

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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Adult Pictures

Ruler view of a Cheumatopsyche (Hydropsychidae) (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from Mystery Creek #43 in New York The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

Lateral view of a Cheumatopsyche (Hydropsychidae) (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from Mystery Creek #43 in New York

Ventral view of a Cheumatopsyche (Hydropsychidae) (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from Mystery Creek #43 in New York

Cheumatopsyche (Hydropsychidae) (Little Sister Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from Mystery Creek #43 in New York

This caddisfly was collected from Mystery Creek #43 in New York on September 19th, 2006 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on October 4th, 2006.

Discussions of this Adult

Cheumatopsyche

Posted by Litobrancha on Oct 20, 2006

Last reply on Oct 20, 2006 by Litobrancha

a great thing about cheumatopsyche (which i believe this is) is that the IX segment ventral plates are almost always completely differentiated to the base. hydropsyche medial margins are more indistinct near the base.

also cheumatopsyche almost always lacks F1 in the hind wings, although aberrant specimens are common. the best character is the distance between M and Cu veins in the hind wing, other hydropsychids are parallel and close together, cheumatopsyche diverges a bit.

Looks like Cheumatopsyche

Posted by GONZO on Oct 6, 2006

Last reply on Oct 6, 2006 by GONZO

Really cool pictures, Jason. My first impression was classic Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedge), and I can't find anything to indicate otherwise--size, color, maxillary palp, and wing all seem right on. Wish I could help with the species, but with many caddisflies I'm happy just to get the genus right. :)

It is interesting to note that some books say that the coloring of many Cheumatopsyche species gets lighter as the season progresses. That certainly doesn't seem to be the case here.

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