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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.

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.

Female Leucrocuta hebe (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

I found this spinner on the same piece of stream as a similar dun, probably of the same species.

Ruler view of a Female Leucrocuta hebe (Heptageniidae) (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #43 in New York The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

This mayfly 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 Spinner

Bingo for the hebe page!
6 replies
Posted by GONZO on Oct 20, 2006
Last reply on Nov 12, 2006 by Martinlf
Jason-

Your question about the Little J mystery hatch finally motivated me to put all the pieces together on this. I am now confident enough to recommend that specimens #643 (female dun), #622 (female spinner), and #644 (female spinner) should all be entered under Leucrocuta hebe along with the two male spinners already on the Leucrocuta page.

Thomas Ames' Hatch Guide for New England Streams has a photo of a female spinner on pg. 126 that matches these precisely. Apropos of your photo of this specimen in particular, he makes this interesting observation:

"After molting the yellowish hues of the females get richer, and the markings on their clarified wings get more defined, with a propensity toward rainbow-like refractions[my emphasis]."

With a fairly complete collection of photos, the observations from the Little J gang, and mine from pg. 93, I think you can assemble a nice page on L. hebe. You'll have to start by upgrading its significance as an important hatch. It is also surprisingly widespread in both of our states. I have encountered very few streams in PA or NY that didn't have at least a token population, and most have lengthy, fishable hatches.

Like many other hatches that shine in the late season, this one is also historically late in receiving the recognition it deserves.

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Female Leucrocuta hebe (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

Collection details
Location: Mystery Creek #43, New York
Date: September 19th, 2006
Added to site: October 4th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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