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Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana
Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
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Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Dec 16, 2013December 16th, 2013, 6:35 am EST
In my non fishing life, this is what I do. If you get a chance check this out and see what can be accomplished at a watershed level. It takes many interested and dedicated parties (and funding), but it works. http://vimeo.com/80934305
PaulRoberts
PaulRoberts's profile picture
Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Dec 16, 2013December 16th, 2013, 2:45 pm EST
Very nice video, Eric. Nice to see a green landscape with people on it that can afford to care.
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Dec 16, 2013December 16th, 2013, 4:37 pm EST
Nice production! This is the kind of positive, practical, results oriented work we need to see. An advertisement for/from the environmentalist community. Don't beat folks over the head and point fingers. Shows them how the little things can add up to something big. It can be done!

Thanks sir! I'm forwarding this link on to some people here in Michigan. A model for how it's done.

Thanks! Eric. Nice stuff.

Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Dec 16, 2013December 16th, 2013, 5:54 pm EST
Very nice video, Eric. Nice to see a green landscape with people on it that can afford to care.


Thanks Paul. I hear what you're saying and yes we take a lot for granted here.
Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Dec 17, 2013December 17th, 2013, 2:39 am EST
Nice production! This is the kind of positive, practical, results oriented work we need to see. An advertisement for/from the environmentalist community. Don't beat folks over the head and point fingers. Shows them how the little things can add up to something big. It can be done!

Thanks sir! I'm forwarding this link on to some people here in Michigan. A model for how it's done.

Thanks! Eric. Nice stuff.

Spence


Thanks Spence. The people at PSU did a really nice job with the video. I just do the bugs, coordinate some streambank restoration and manage some people for that particular project, but it really does illustrate what can be accomplished when there are enough parties that are willing to work together toward a common goal. We definitely benefit from being in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, some funding is there do actually do some work.

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