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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Amphizoa Beetle Larva Amphizoa Beetle Larva

Dorsal view of a Amphizoa (Amphizoidae) Beetle Larva from Sears Creek in Washington

This is the first of it's family I've seen, collected from a tiny, fishless stream in the Cascades. The three species of this genus all live in the Northwest and are predators that primarily eat stonefly nymphs Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019).

5 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.

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Female Drunella tuberculata Mayfly Dun Pictures

I don't know for sure that this is Drunella tuberculata, but that's my best guess for now.

It certainly has a different look and much more robust body shape from Drunella lata duns I photographed a couple weeks earlier, so I doubt it's that species. Using distribution records to eliminate other choices narrows this down to Drunella tuberculata or Drunella walkeri.

Markings described for the abdominal sternites of the male spinner of Drunella tuberculata are suspiciously similar to those on this female dun. Also, this dun is 9.5mm long (my ruler pic isn't very good, but I'm basing this on measuring the real thing). The size range given in the old Allen & Edmunds keys for walkeri females is 7-8mm, while tuberculata is 9-11mm. For these reasons I'm sticking it in tuberculata for now.

This is the only Drunella mayfly I saw all day. I scooped it off the water as it emerged at around 7pm from a big Catskill tailwater.

Female Drunella tuberculata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

Ventral view of a Female Drunella tuberculata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

Dorsal view of a Female Drunella tuberculata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

Lateral view of a Female Drunella tuberculata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

The projection under the right eye of this one is interesting.

Female Drunella tuberculata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

Ruler view of a Female Drunella tuberculata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

This mayfly was collected from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York on June 7th, 2007 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on June 8th, 2007.

Discussions of this Dun

Insect migration

7 replies

Posted by Mykisslayer on Jan 30, 2014

Last reply on Feb 3, 2014 by PaulRoberts

Do adult aquatic insects travel or migrate to other watersheds or bodies of water? Or do they remain close to the area where they emerged?

Anyone recognize this Drunella?

8 replies

Posted by Troutnut on Jun 8, 2007

Last reply on Sep 21, 2009 by GONZO

I'm a bit puzzled about this one. See the specimen description for details. I know female duns are awful for identification, but this is the only one of its species I could find. Would any of you Ephemerellid experts (Konchu!!) care to take a guess?

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References

Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. 2019. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (Fifth Edition). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.