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3. Neophylax larvae and pupae

I haven't found these in the mainstem of the Russian River but they're abundant in a small tributary of the Russian, Mill Creek. The larvae are usually found in areas of slow water with healthy growths of diatoms on the substrate. Larvae are common from mid-spring through mid to late summer, depending on water temperatures. The larvae can often be seen above the waterline on rocks, presumably grazing on dried diatoms. They're seldom more than a few inches above the waterline but can spend half an hour or more out of the water. Prepupae and pupae can be found in medium to large aggregations on cobble from early summer to the first floods. When the larvae construct their pupal cases they enter a state of diapause as prepupae for several weeks to several months.

There are at least three species of Neophylax in California, Neophylax occidentis, N. rickeri and N. splendens. Wiggins (1996) described the larvae of N. rickeri but I've been unable to find descriptions of the other two species.

try this - Vineyard, R.N., Wiggins, G.B., Frania, H.E., Schefter, P.W. 2005. The caddisfly genus Neophylax (Trichoptera: Uenoidae). Royal Ontario Museum, Contributions in Science 2: 1-141.

If you can get a good closeup image of the pro/mesonotum like in your image 3 should be able to determine species.

Dave,
Damn, you're fast. Just finished this and already an answer. I'll try hunting up the paper and checking it out. Thanks.
Mark

Got an email from Creno including illustrations of Neophylax occidentis, N. rickeri and N. splendens from the publication above. These specimens appear to be Neophylax rickeri as far as I can determine.