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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
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.

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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CalebBoyle has attached this picture to aid in identification. The message is below.
CalebBoyle
Charlotte, NC

Posts: 11
CalebBoyle on Mar 13, 2008March 13th, 2008, 1:29 pm EDT
Jason,
I sent you an email about this yesterday-- I don't know if it went through so I thought I would post it on the board for everyone.

This week I collected insects for my bug aquarium taht I set up each spring. The day after, I was looking over all the bugs in the tank, and what do you know, I found another Neoephemera! The good news is it is a nymph and it is alive and well in the tank. Hopefully it will survive and I can get some photos of the adult. I did not want to remove it from the tank, but I did get a photo of the nymph from the outside.

Are there some features I should be looking for to possibly identify the species?

Caleb

Taxon
Taxon's profile picture
Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Mar 13, 2008March 13th, 2008, 8:04 pm EDT
Caleb,

Are there some features I should be looking for to possibly identify the species?


You have two species of Neoephemera in North Carolina, N. purpurea and N. youngi. They are easily differentiated by mature body length. N. purpurea achieves a length of ~16mm, whereas the smaller N. youngi achieves a length of only ~10mm.
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
Troutnut
Troutnut's profile picture
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Mar 15, 2008March 15th, 2008, 2:43 pm EDT
Caleb,

Thanks for the picture! Very cool. I hope you have luck hatching it out... I'd like to see the adult!
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

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