Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata
The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
Featured on the forum
This dun emerged from a mature nymph on my desk. Unfortunately its wings didn't perfectly dry out.
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.
This one seems to tentatively key to Holocentropus, although I can't make out the anal spines in Couplet 7 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae nor the dark bands in Couplet 4 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae, making me wonder if I went wrong somewhere in keying it out. I don't see where that could have happened, though. It might also be that it's a very immature larva and doesn't possess all the identifying characteristics in the key yet. If Holocentropus is correct, then Holocentropus flavus and Holocentropus interruptus are the two likely possibilities based on range, but I was not able to find a description of their larvae.
Fishohio614
Posts: 1
Posts: 1
Fishohio614 on Jun 11, 2023June 11th, 2023, 9:28 pm EDT
At first glance Rhyacophilidae is what jumps to my mind. Admittedly, I have limited experience with this family. From the Holocentropus I’ve keyed out, the anal spines are fairly small. If you have a compound scope you may have better luck trying to wet mount a claw and view it under higher magnification. Not being able to see the dark bands couplet 4 refers to makes me think you may be in the wrong family. I recall that character usually being present in smaller larva, although I could be misremembering.