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.
This specimen resembled several others of around the same size and perhaps the same species, which were pretty common in my February sample from the upper Yakima. Unfortunately, I misplaced the specimen before I could get it under a microscope for a definitive ID.
Millcreek on Feb 16, 2015February 16th, 2015, 6:22 am EST
This larvae is common to Mill Creek, a tributary of the Russian River. Haven't found it in the river yet, but it's seasonally common in the stream. Keyed it out to genus in Merritt, Cummins and Berg (2008). Curious as to species. Any help would be appreciated.
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein
Gutcutter on Feb 17, 2015February 17th, 2015, 3:26 am EST
Does anybody know how they make that type of case?
Very cool.
Some amazing engineering.
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.
Creno on Feb 17, 2015February 17th, 2015, 7:43 am EST
Gumaga is a great taxa to initiate a discussion of the species concept. There are numerous publications from the Resh Lab involving Gumaga "species". (http://nature.berkeley.edu/reshlab/) Ya probably should start with Jackson and Resh 1998. (Jackson, John K., Resh, Vincent H. 1998. Morphologically cryptic species confound ecological studies of the caddisfly genus Gumaga (Trichoptera: Sericostomatidae) in northern California. Aquatic Insects 20: 69-84.)