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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.

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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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Lateral view of a Male Epeorus frisoni (Heptageniidae) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #23 in New York
I collected this male dun together with a female spinner, a female dun, and another male dun.
Goose
Posts: 77
Goose on Oct 4, 2006October 4th, 2006, 1:10 am EDT
Nice photos, Jason. Are these the fall Sulphur Mayflies that have been discussed here and on a Pennsylvania web site?
Troutnut
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Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Oct 4, 2006October 4th, 2006, 4:51 am EDT
I don't think so. This is one of several yellowish species I collected in September, and some of the others were much more widespread. I only found this species on one remote small stream in the Catskills. Surely it's found elsewhere but I don't think it's a major hatch.

Once I've got the rest of the pics online I'll try posting one each on the PA website and see if people can pick their "September peach fly" out of a lineup. Then I'll just have to figure out the species ID, which is no easy task since I've got mostly females.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

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