1. Troutnut Forum
›
2. Get Bugs Identified
›
3. Little Spinner

This morning as I was opening the hatch of my wagon I noticed a small, maybe #18 or actually closer to a #20 spinner on the glass. Here is what it looked like:

- Very large and prominent light yellow eyes
- Robust rusty orange thorax
- Rusty dorsal abdomen (body), but very light colored underneath, almost translucent white.
- The wings were clear with black veination near the front edges
- Two long white tails
I can't remember the color of the legs

Anyone know what it is? I live very close to a timy little brook.

Matt, if the black venation was mostly a few dark cross and long veins near the leading edge, it sounds like it may have been a little male spinner of the Heptageniidae--possibly Leucrocuta. The little yellowish duns of this genus are surprisingly common and, in my opinion, important. (Mention of these in fly fishing texts is rather scant and sometimes dismissive. The common name I like for the duns is little yellow quills.)

PS--I just checked and there's a group of 5 pictures of a male spinner ID'd as Leucrocuta at the top of the second page of pix in the Leucrocuta section under Heptageniidae. It should match your little spinner pretty closely.

Last year we hypothesized that a fall hatching sulphur on the Little J is probably Leucrocuta Hebe.

Louis, that wasn't an hypothesis, that was an out-and-out statement of completely unsubstantiated "fact." (As Konchu points out in another recent thread, if I can't be right, I can at least offer my wrong opinion with conviction!) :)

OK, I was just afraid one of the bug guys would ask if we got a good enough look at its private parts to confirm the ID.

That was supposed to be your job, Louis. What, did your modesty prevent you from spreading their little tails and taking a peek? :)

Actually not; I had just left my portable electron microscope at home that day, forgetting to tuck it into my vest's back pocket. :)

You guys are pretty weird looking at mayfly genitalia.

Gonzo,

I looked at the pictures of the spinner and everything looks pretty much the same except my spinner had large yellow eyes not black like the spinner in the pictures.

On another note I go a late start but drove up to the Susky about six miles north of where the Juniata enters the river today. I didn't get there until about 12:30. I tried wading with my flats booties and that was a huge mistake as I was slipping all over. So I went back to the car and put my felts on and no sooner did I get back into the river I saw a huge lighting strike uprive and I hightailed it out of the river.

I left as the rain increased. It poured and poured so hard tha tI had to pull over three times on the way home. When I got just just of Harrisburg on I-83 the road was completely dry. I'm going to check the weather for tomorrow and if it looks good will get an early start hoping to be on the water by 7:00 a.m.

Hmmm...maybe the pictures are ordered differently on different browsers or something, but the male spinner I wanted you to look at does indeed have big yellow eyes (with maybe a slight greenish tint). Did you check all of the Leucrocuta adults? (This one will stand out for that very reason.)

Bummer about your wasted drive up the Susky! Did you look at the river just below where the Juniata comes in? As I mentioned, wading can be rather nasty, but that's a really good stretch. Best of luck on your next try.

Matt, just looking isn't that weird. It's when you start getting excited by it that you have to worry! :)

Gonzo,

"Did you look at the river just below where the Juniata comes in?" I don't know how to get from 15 to the mouth of the Juniata. There did not appear to be an exit off of 15 when I crossed the bridge over the Juniata. Maybe I'll get up tomorrow morning for a few hours.