Blue-winged Olives
Baetis
Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.
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As far as I can tell, this species has only previously been reported from one site in Oregon along the Columbia gorge. However, the key characteristics are fairly unmistakable in all except for one minor detail:
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
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This topic is about the Mayfly Species Drunella lata
When Selective Trout was first published in 1971, Swisher and Richards included Drunella lata (Small Blue-Winged Olive, Slate-Winged Olive) as a Midwestern "superhatch." Although it can also be found in many Eastern trout streams, it is probably more important to Midwestern anglers. Typically a morning emerger, this species often competes for the attention of trout with more abundant Tricorythodes and small baetids during parts of July and August. For this reason, the authors of Selective Trout considered the concentrated evening spinner falls to be more important than the somewhat sporadic morning emergence. From an angling standpoint, this situation is nearly the opposite of the earlier Drunella cornuta emergence in the East, where the morning emergence is usually the main event and spinner falls are often of little consequence.Currently, Drunella lata shares its name with another mayfly, the former D. longicornis. That mayfly can be important in mountainous areas in the Southeast, but they are larger and the nymphs lack the distinctive pale markings mentioned in the Juvenile Characteristics section. (The information on this page does not describe D. longicornis)
Taxon on May 2, 2007May 2nd, 2007, 4:41 pm EDT
DarkDun-
Actually, Drunella lata (and synonym species D. cornuta, D. cornutella, and D. longicornis) are found in (16) NE and SE states, and no NW or SW states. This is not to say they aren't a serious hatch in certain states in the eastern half of the US.
I never realized my original post would draw so much attention, but this is a serious hatch in every part of the US.
Actually, Drunella lata (and synonym species D. cornuta, D. cornutella, and D. longicornis) are found in (16) NE and SE states, and no NW or SW states. This is not to say they aren't a serious hatch in certain states in the eastern half of the US.
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