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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 6 pictures. The message is below.
Tinodes larva. 11 mm.
Top of pupal case. 12 mm.
Bottom of pupal case. 12 mm.
Immature and mature pupae. 10 mm.
Ventral view of pupa. 10 mm.
Dorsal view of pupa. 10mm.
Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344
Millcreek on Feb 24, 2015February 24th, 2015, 5:48 am EST
These are relatively common in Mill Creek, a tributary of the Russian River.
They're found in pools on the side and top of rocks. They use a net to capture diatoms and algae. The net sits flat on the rock usually over a small declivity.

When ready to pupate, the larva leaves the net and finds a large rock, spins a covering of silk and sand and begins pupation. Pupae are usually found on the top or side of a rock.
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein
Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Feb 24, 2015February 24th, 2015, 8:30 am EST
Nice pics - especially pupal stuff - can you get a close up of the head showing the structure (bump) between the antennae? Does that hang over the front of the head like a ball-cap brim?
Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344
Millcreek on Feb 24, 2015February 24th, 2015, 9:45 am EST
Kind of pressed for time right now. Will try to get pics of the head later.
Did take a look under the microscope and it does to appear hang over the front of the head.
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein
PaulRoberts
PaulRoberts's profile picture
Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Feb 24, 2015February 24th, 2015, 4:31 pm EST
Nice. Thanks for these.

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