Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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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.
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Jmd123 on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 8:12 am EDT
Yesterday I checked out another lake stocked with trout that is open all year long. I didn't catch anything and in fact saw no fish rising or anything, but it was a really beautiful place so I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. Then, while walking along the shoreline to stretch my legs, I saw this Lethocerus sp. - giant water bug - swimming along in the shallows. This thing actually came at my boot!
Jonathon
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Entoman on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 9:44 am EDT
Jonathon - Ahh... The ol' Toe Biters.
Go to Taxon's forum and check out the few he's got there. There's one that has an extreme close-up with his microscope of the biting parts. Or should I say skewering parts?
Kurt
Go to Taxon's forum and check out the few he's got there. There's one that has an extreme close-up with his microscope of the biting parts. Or should I say skewering parts?
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
Jmd123 on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 10:48 am EDT
Trust me, I knew better than to pick the darned thing up...I collected a specimen once and they have the equivalent of probably a 16-guage needle for a mouth. Plus, there is actually supposed to be some venom involved...
Once upon a time at the University of Michigan Biological Station (a.k.a. Bug Camp), I did pick up a Ranatra sp. "water scorpion" (Hemiptera: Nepidae) without getting poked somehow. I did not try to restrain said bug, just lifted it in a handful of water. It eventually flew away, leaving me unharmed.
Jonathon
Once upon a time at the University of Michigan Biological Station (a.k.a. Bug Camp), I did pick up a Ranatra sp. "water scorpion" (Hemiptera: Nepidae) without getting poked somehow. I did not try to restrain said bug, just lifted it in a handful of water. It eventually flew away, leaving me unharmed.
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Entoman on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 12:39 pm EDT
Jonathon -
:)
:)
"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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