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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.

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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Benthosfan has attached these 7 pictures to aid in identification. The message is below.
Baetidae #1
Baetidae #2
Baetidae #3
Baetidae #4
Baetidae #5
Baetidae #6
Baetidae #7
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Feb 2, 2021February 2nd, 2021, 10:53 am EST
Hi Steve,

I wish I could help more with these. It's almost impossible to key most Baetidae beyond the family level without extreme closeups of some tiny, hard to access parts on the mouth and elsewhere. This board is occasionally visited by experts who might recognize one (at least the genus) based on the general "look." However, that ability comes only from extensive personal experience and can't be gleaned from any available key unfortunately.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Partsman
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bancroft michigan

Posts: 321
Partsman on Feb 6, 2021February 6th, 2021, 1:36 am EST
Very nice pictures, thanks for sharing. I hope you some answers to your questions.
Mike.
Taxon
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Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Feb 6, 2021February 6th, 2021, 5:52 am EST
Family="Baetidae"
USA_States="OK"

Family Scientific Name

Baetidae Acentrella turbida 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Acerpenna macdunnoughi 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Acerpenna pygmaea 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Anafroptilum minor 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Apobaetis futilis 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Baetis bicaudatus 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Baetis flavistriga 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Baetis intercalaris 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Callibaetis floridanus 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Callibaetis pictus 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Camelobaetidius mexicanus 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Camelobaetidius variabilis 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Diphetor hageni 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Fallceon quilleri 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Heterocloeon curiosum 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Iswaeon rubrolaterale 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Neocloeon alamance ? tails as nymph
Baetidae Plauditus dubius 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Plauditus punctiventris 2 tails as nymph
Baetidae Procloeon pennulatum 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Procloeon rubropictum 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Procloeon texanum 3 tails as nymph
Baetidae Procloeon viridoculare 3 tails as nymph

Note: there are multiple genera in your images, as some have 2 tails and some have 3 tails
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Feb 8, 2021February 8th, 2021, 5:40 pm EST
Benthosfan, even getting high quality pictures won't necessarily make the ID easy. I got a really nice microscope setup myself this fall and still really struggle with the relevant parts of Baetids. For example, it's often not enough to just get an in-focus closeup of the underside of the head: you have to tease out specific parts that might normally be hidden, and photograph them at just the right angle to see the relevant tiny details. There's a patch of tiny setae called the "villipore" on the legs that's also extremely difficult to see, let alone image, with most microscopes.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Taxon
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Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Apr 2, 2021April 2nd, 2021, 10:22 am EDT
Confirmed possible IDs for ...

#7 is Acentrella parvula or Oxyethira


Oxyethira a caddisfly genus. Happy April Fools Day?
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com

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