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.

Sunlight perfectly strikes the trees at a bend in the Foss River in the Washington Cascades.

From the Foss River in Washington

Stream photos

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Female Sweltsa borealis (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult Female Sweltsa borealis (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult

Lateral view of a Female Sweltsa borealis (Chloroperlidae) (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult from Harris Creek in Washington

I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.

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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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i need your help..

This topic is about the True Fly Family Chironomidae

Midges are the most important aquatic insects in some places, especially fertile spring creeks where they are extremely abundant and the current is so slow that it's efficient for trout to surface feed on very tiny insects.

Some midges are large, up to hook size 14, but the majority are size 22 or smaller. The number of genera and species is hopelessly huge for angler entomologists to ever learn, and the identifing characteristics often require slide-mounting tiny parts under high-powered microscopes. Even the most Latin-minded fisherman must slip back to the basics--size and color--to describe his local midge hatches.

Example specimens

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Chironomidae (Midge) True Fly Larva

Dorsal view of a Chironomidae (Midge) True Fly Larva from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

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Chironomidae (Midge) True Fly Larva

Lateral view of a Chironomidae (Midge) True Fly Larva from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

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Chironomidae (Midge) True Fly Adult

Lateral view of a Chironomidae (Midge) True Fly Adult from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

This extremely tiny fly was puzzling to identify. I collected it from a sparse mating swarm just above the surface of the river. It just doesn't have the "look" I'm used to seeing in Chironomids, but the key characteristics in Merritt, Cummins, & Berg point that way. -Maxillary palp apparently with 4 segments, antenna with 6 -I can't see any ocelli and wing venation doesn't seem to match Axymyiidae -Costa definitely ends at or near apex of the wing (pictured) -Obvious characteristics and wing venation rule out a few other things -Simuliidae seems like a possibility due to the broad wings, but bugguide says they're supposed to have more antennal segments (eleven, though a different source says some have ten, at least in the Southern Hemisphere). -Postnotum with median longitudinal groove (pictured) rules out Ceratopogonidae So my guess is some kind of chironomid from a genus that doesn't have the classic midge look. There are some like that.

Aznaini
Posts: 1

Aznaini on Nov 17, 2008November 17th, 2008, 10:18 pm EST

hello friends..nice to meet you in this site...i'll further my study just around a corner..i need your help in sharing some information about Chironomus kiiensis.only a few information i can get about this species. i'll use this species in my future project..glad to here something from all of you..thank you.

Taxon

Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311

Taxon on Nov 17, 2008November 17th, 2008, 11:56 pm EST

Hello, Azniani. Welcome aboard. Chironimus kiiensis appears to be an Asian (Korean) species. Therefore, I kind of doubt that you will be able to learn much about it on this forum. However, if you were to be more specific concerning kind of information you hope to learn about it, perhaps someone here could be of some assistance to you.

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com