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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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Millcreek has attached these 7 pictures to aid in identification. The message is below.
Female. November 11, 2013.
Female. October 29, 2013.
Female. October 29, 2013.
Female molting. November 14, 2013.
Female. November 21,2013.
Male. November 14, 2013.
Male. January 23, 2014.
Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344
Millcreek on Aug 26, 2014August 26th, 2014, 7:47 pm EDT
Figured since there was a fair amount of discussion about Baetis nymphs lately I'd post these photos. They're all of the same species.

I've been able to key these nymphs to Baetis but have no idea which species they are. Any suggestions welcomed.

All were taken out of the Russian River. The nymphs range from 5.5-6.5 mm in length (excluding cerci). The date each photo was taken is under the photo. All specimens were alive when the photos were taken.
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein

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