Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York

Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

This little pool in update New York is enjoyed by many tourists every day, and it still holds a few trout -- stockers mostly, but you can't complain about the setting!

From Mystery Creek # 62 in New York

Stream photos

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Setvena wahkeena (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph Setvena wahkeena (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Setvena wahkeena (Perlodidae) (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph from Mystery Creek #199 in Washington

As far as I can tell, this species has only previously been reported from one site in Oregon along the Columbia gorge. However, the key characteristics are fairly unmistakable in all except for one minor detail:
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.

7 Recently Added Photos

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.

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.

Identification

Rhyacophila fuscula (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

11 Pictures

Dorsal view of a Rhyacophila fuscula (Rhyacophilidae) (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

I collected this larva and several like it from the same stream and on the same day as this pupa. I suspect they're the same species.

Collected June 4, 2005 from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

Added by Troutnut on May 24, 2006

Collected June 4, 2005 from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin and added by Troutnut on May 24, 2006

Litobrancha
Knoxville TN

Posts: 51

Litobrancha on Sep 5, 2006September 5th, 2006, 8:44 am EDT

Looks like Rhyacophila fuscula. Wonderful bug.

Jwatersphd
boulder colorado

Posts: 2

Jwatersphd on Jun 23, 2007June 23rd, 2007, 2:35 pm EDT

i am curious how to tell rhyacophila from macronema and whether it makes any difference either in terms of size or behavior. in schweibert's first volume from years ago they look very similar. i am awaiting his new two volume set but in the meantime would be curious i if anyone knows. there is definitely a green caddis that is quite prevalent on the gunnison in the black canyon and probably gorge below but i have not been especially successful at devising a good imitation. after looking at oliver edwards's video on czech nymphing, however, i am thinking the big problem is that i did not tie in such a method as to emphasize the heavily segmented body.

jwatersphd

Taxon

Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311

Taxon on Jun 23, 2007June 23rd, 2007, 6:32 pm EDT

Dr. Waters-

Rhyacophila are in the family of free-living caddisflies (Rhyacophilidae), whose larvae are characterized by: only pronotum having a sclerotized plate, mesonotum and metanotum being entirely membranous; sclerotized plate on top of abdominal segment nine; anal prolegs long with large claws.

Macronema (now Macrostemum, at least for those species of interest to flyfishers) are in the family of common net-spinner caddisflies (Hydropsycidae), whose larvae are characterized by: sclerotized plates on notum of all three thoracic segments; anal prolegs terminating in a brush of long setae.

Incidentally, no Macrostemum species are known from Colorado.

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com

Ov10fac
Posts: 2

Ov10fac on Jul 30, 2019July 30th, 2019, 7:15 am EDT

What is the approximate length and width of this fly. I used to fish something similar to this on the South Platte in Colorado. Seems the ones I fished were a little more brown.

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on Jul 30, 2019July 30th, 2019, 7:29 am EDT

This one is over an inch long. The genus Rhyacophila is the largest (in number of species) genus of caddisflies, with several dozen different species in North America if I recall correctly. You very likely saw one of the other species of this genus on the South Platte.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist