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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.

Ventral view of a Hydropsyche (Hydropsychidae) (Spotted Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
With a bit of help from the microscope, this specimen keys clearly and unsurprisingly to Hydropsyche.
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.

Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
This dun molted most of the way into a spinner (though the wings got stuck) the evening after I photographed it, so I took some more photos of the spinner.

I found a female nearby, probably of the same species.
Entoman
Entoman's profile picture
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604
Entoman on Oct 25, 2011October 25th, 2011, 11:39 am EDT
Hi Jason,

Excepting Bob Newell's nymphs, I believe the photos on the Acerpenna genus hatch page are actually Baetis. Looking closely at the images shows characters hard to reconcile with Merritt IV couplet 37(36') for Acerpenna that reads in part as follows, "...beyond costal process anterior margin of hind wing undulate; terminal segment of male forceps approximately four times as long as wide..."

The specimens do match up with Baetis by the process of elimination as the preceding couplets and those that follow rule out other possibilities by negative determination. The characters of baetis are so variable that the keys have to be structured this way, I guess.

Regards,

Kurt
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman

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