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3. Today's Quill Gordon, Page 2

Marvelous, again hoisted on my own petard! Now I fully see just how devious Gonzo truly is. Never having looked down a male May's pants before, I didn't realize that there were two "organs of generation" per bug. Jason, I apologize abjectly and profusely. I take it in the picture that the "lobes" are the two hooks under the tails, Boy Howdy am I getting an education in the nether regions of Ephemeroptera! "Two of them thangs!" as my buddies back in Tennessee would say; now I understand why those lady Mays bob and weave so much in the spinner balls. Uh oh, I've left myself open for some kind of double entendre here. I should know better than to mess with Taxon by now; why I continue to do so baffles me endlessly. He has noted, I hope, that I at least discretely vacated the field of battle when Casey asked about Latin pronunciation a while back.

Louis-

Close, but no cigar.

At the risk or responding to a purely rhetorical question, you most likely sense Taxon’s keen appreciation of your intellect, and are thus provided with adequate motivation to exercise it, or so it would seem to this observer.

Incidentally, I attended Rick Hafele’s presentation at the Bellevue Flyfishing Show last weekend, and closely listened to him repeatedly pronounce Callibaetis as (caley-BEE-tis). This is offered, not as conclusive evidence of anything, but rather, in hope of scoring a debate point.

After that most recent and very explicit photo, I know this forum should be X-rated. Jason, the Conservatives are drafting a bill at this moment to shut you down. This may seem cruel after his friendly overture, but I recommend that Taxon be banned from the site lest he drag us all down with him. Next, he'll post a photo of Trico spinners balling on a hot summer's morn. As for Rick Hafele, anyone who can make a DVD as silly as the one in his book is definitely not to be trusted.

Just to add or correct something I re-stated from Gonzo - I beleive the tricadatus has 3 tails which would make it very easy to distinguish them from a Quill Gordon without even considering the size difference.
By the way, both of you are far beyond my English language capability. My education ended with a "D", when I told my college prof that "the only purpose of the English language was to communicate - and as long as I was communicating, I was fullfilling its only purpose". How many p. do these mayflies have?

Yes, Baetis tricaudatus has three tails in its nymphal form, the middle varying from about 25-75% as long as the outer two. However, it has only two tails in its winged stages.

Thanks, Roger--yes, I was referring to the casual identification of adult mayflies in my previous posts. As for the size difference between first-brood B. tricaudatus and E. pleuralis, it is not as great as one might expect. We are accustomed to thinking of most baetids as being rather tiny, but the earliest tricaudatus hatches are the largest of the season (often 8-9mm), making them only slightly smaller than the smallest E. pleuralis specimens (around 10mm). Still, once one is familiar with the general appearance of the two, it is unlikely that they would be confused. And Beachvid is right that Ameletus is a relatively rare genus in the East. (And is also three-tailed in its nymphal stage.)

As for whether one can properly refer to a two-lobed organ in the singular (probably not), I'm reminded of the old joke that implies that the inventor of the toothbrush had only one tooth--otherwise, it would have been called the "teethbrush." :)

PS--Anyone who now wants to make a distinction between "tails," "cerci," and "terminal filament" will receive my "nit-picker of the month" award! ;)

Gonzo-

Boy, that is sure tempting, but I'll pass.

C'mon, Roger, while the award is strictly nonmonetary, it is suitable for framing (or wrapping fish withal). :)

beautiful pictures.

regarding the taxonomic discussion, Edmunds and Allen 1964 described Rocky Mountain epeorus species. there is also a paper by someone and hilsenhoff Heptageniidae of Wisconsin that might have further species descriptions. those references are in the 1996 merritt and cummins.

but you need imago males to make sure, and this one wouldn't do. what a beautiful insect

e.pleuralis is an EASTERN quill gordon. Also, note that the photo was taken on the Beaverkill ( N.Y. state.)

Phew! You guys are a "painus in the assus."

Goose Bruce

An instructive and funny thread on Quill Gordons for the coming season.

Are there people who dream about mayflies?

Yes, the naked females.