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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I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.
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Shepherdson has attached this picture to aid in identification. The message is below.
Konchu on Apr 25, 2012April 25th, 2012, 12:35 pm EDT
M. pulchellum is as good a guess as any, especially considering that this is a rumpled female subimago. Though, sometimes I still think I'm seeing spots (median that is).
I was looking at Randolph & McCafferty's (1998) work on Ohio and neighboring states when I referred to the M. ithaca distribution records.
I was looking at Randolph & McCafferty's (1998) work on Ohio and neighboring states when I referred to the M. ithaca distribution records.
Falsifly on Apr 25, 2012April 25th, 2012, 1:04 pm EDT
Falsifly
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
Entoman on Apr 25, 2012April 25th, 2012, 1:42 pm EDT
Sorry, I should have been a little clearer as far as the characters. I was asking about my comments regarding ithaca so as to answer Paul's question. Thanks for the heads up on the newer paper.
"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
Taxon on Apr 25, 2012April 25th, 2012, 3:39 pm EDT
Shepherdson-
The Mayfly Guide (Quick And Easy Steps To Identifying Nymphs, Duns And Spinners) by Al Caucci is my current recommendation for a mayfly identification field guide. It is a spiral-bound, has waterproof pages, is highly illustrated, is easy to use, has an enormous amount of information intelligently formatted into its (82) pages, and was published in 2011, so its taxonomy is up-to date.
... could someone steer me toward a good ID resource(s) for Eastern flies?
The Mayfly Guide (Quick And Easy Steps To Identifying Nymphs, Duns And Spinners) by Al Caucci is my current recommendation for a mayfly identification field guide. It is a spiral-bound, has waterproof pages, is highly illustrated, is easy to use, has an enormous amount of information intelligently formatted into its (82) pages, and was published in 2011, so its taxonomy is up-to date.
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