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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.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Namfos
Rockville, MD

Posts: 1
Namfos on Nov 19, 2015November 19th, 2015, 5:19 am EST
I'm a very sporadic visitor to this site, but I often send anglers new to entomology here. And IMO one of the best things here are the photos.

That being said, our club forum here in the DC area had this question posted:

Why don't fish eat water striders?

Secondarily, my experience with water striders on moving water, such as the Potomac, is that if water striders are present, fish will NOT be present. Or is this an old wives tale?

Namfos
Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344
Millcreek on Nov 19, 2015November 19th, 2015, 5:59 am EST
Namfos,

The reason water striders are not eaten is because of a scent gland on their thorax which evidently gives off a smell which is unappreciated by fish in general.

I've seen trout swimming below water striders. Not too commonly, but it happens.

Mark
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein

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