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.
This specimen resembled several others of around the same size and perhaps the same species, which were pretty common in my February sample from the upper Yakima. Unfortunately, I misplaced the specimen before I could get it under a microscope for a definitive ID.
Willmilne on Jan 25, 2010January 25th, 2010, 8:02 am EST
Hi whilst doing some high magnification images of a mayfly specimen I noticed what appear to be eggs attached to the head. I'm curious if anyone could offer a suggestion as to what they are or even if they are eggs. I understand there are stonefly parasites is this also true of mayflies?
Konchu on Jan 25, 2010January 25th, 2010, 8:42 am EST
I'm not sure what those are base on the picture, but I often see mystery things attached to specimens. Sometimes, these are a fungus, and rarely they are aquatic mites. A frequent thing I see is little pale pouches of "goo" that appear as an artifact of the fixation and preservation process.
These could be eggs of some kind, but what kind I do not know. Might even be eggs from another mayfly. Many of these adhere to whatever happens to be on the stream bottom, even if it is another living thing.