Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

Stream photos

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Sweltsa (Sallfly) Stonefly Nymph Sweltsa (Sallfly) Stonefly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Sweltsa (Chloroperlidae) (Sallfly) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

This species was fairly abundant in a February sample of the upper Yakima.

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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.

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.

one of the dicosmoecins

Onocosmoecus (Great Late-Summer Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

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Case view of a Onocosmoecus (Limnephilidae) (Great Late-Summer Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Chena River in Alaska

See the forum discussion for discussion with a caddis expert (Dave Ruiter / Creno) about the identification of this specimen. I'm a bit perplexed because some gills seem to have more than 4 branches, which would lead in a different direction at Couplet 18 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae, but Dave knew his stuff a lot better than I did. He was convinced this is Onocosmoecus. The current range maps would put this in Onocosmoecus unicolor as the only option, but he believed there are probably multiple not-yet-distinguished species under that umbrella and suggested keeping this one's ID at the genus level for that reason.

Collected May 9, 2008 from the Chena River in Alaska

Added by Troutnut on April 20, 2011

Collected May 9, 2008 from the Chena River in Alaska and added by Troutnut on April 20, 2011

Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302

Creno on Apr 26, 2011April 26th, 2011, 6:57 pm EDT

Most likely Onocosmoecus but I want to look at a couple critters.
I like the new site look. It will take awhile to look around.
creno

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on Apr 26, 2011April 26th, 2011, 7:04 pm EDT

Thanks! I'll stick it in there, provisionally.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302

Creno on Apr 27, 2011April 27th, 2011, 11:28 am EDT

Jason - I decided it is Onocosmoecus. While current taxonomy lists only Onocosmoecus unicolor from that part of the world, several folks have commented on the highly variable adult morphology across NA. Quite a few taxa have been synonymized within O. unicolor which also is often an indication of morphological variability. Current limited, provisional DNA results seems to indicate there may be a couple cryptic species withing O. unicolor so I would leave the photos at genus level for now.

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on Apr 28, 2011April 28th, 2011, 12:29 am EDT

Thanks again! Will do.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist