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.
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This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
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This topic is about the Beetle Family Hydrophilidae
These are a common sight on most trout streams, especially in the calm backwaters. They aren't regarded as significant to trout, although I have found them in occasional stomach samples.Example specimen
DMM
Posts: 34
Posts: 34
DMM on Nov 26, 2006November 26th, 2006, 5:00 pm EST
I noticed the ending of the family is reversed--should be -ae.
David
Troutnut on Nov 29, 2006November 29th, 2006, 5:35 am EST
Thanks, fixed. I would encourage anyone else who notices incorrect spellings to speak up, too. I typed all 5000+ taxa into the database manually so there are sure to be plenty of other spelling errors. They're very easy for me to fix when you find them.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist