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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.

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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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Male Epeorus vitreus (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

Lateral view of a Male Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner from Penn's Creek in Pennsylvania
Male Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner from Penn's Creek in Pennsylvania
Dorsal view of a Male Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner from Penn's Creek in Pennsylvania
Ruler view of a Male Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner from Penn's Creek in Pennsylvania The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

This mayfly was collected from Penn's Creek in Pennsylvania on May 26th, 2007 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on June 4th, 2007.

Discussions of this Spinner

Probably another E. vitreus
Posted by GONZO on Oct 28, 2008
Last reply on Oct 28, 2008 by GONZO
This looks like a male vitreus spinner. Although blurry, the terminalia look about right. The dark humeral vein and the little dark marks on the middle rear of segments 3-5 and 7-9 also seem to fit.

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References

Male Epeorus vitreus (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

Collection details
Location: Penn's Creek, Pennsylvania
Date: May 26th, 2007
Added to site: June 4th, 2007
Author: Troutnut
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