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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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Wiflyfisher
Wiflyfisher's profile picture
Wisconsin

Posts: 622
Wiflyfisher on Sep 28, 2016September 28th, 2016, 4:37 pm EDT
Okay, Jason and Western guys what is this chartreuse midge called?



I just got back from Montana and this is the second year I have seen this midge during sunny, mid-days and some trout were taking them in the drift.

John
Taxon
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Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Sep 29, 2016September 29th, 2016, 4:32 am EDT
Hi John-

I suggest you contact Ethan Bright at ethanbr@umich.edu, but this one is pretty close.

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
Falsifly
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Hayward, WI.

Posts: 660
Falsifly on Sep 29, 2016September 29th, 2016, 5:25 am EDT
John, did you tie or use anything to resemble the pupa or adult? If so were you successful?
Falsifly
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
Wiflyfisher
Wiflyfisher's profile picture
Wisconsin

Posts: 622
Wiflyfisher on Sep 29, 2016September 29th, 2016, 6:02 pm EDT
John, did you tie or use anything to resemble the pupa or adult? If so were you successful?

Yes, I had a small soft hackle with a lime green body that did okay. Then I tied up several parachute style dries with a chartreuse strand body material. If I saw a trout take a chartreuse midge I dropped my pattern a couple feet in front and they generally took my pattern.

The midge had a short window of effectiveness because Trico spinners shortly afterwards appeared and the trout immediately switched to the growing number of tiny spinners spread eagle in the drift.
Wiflyfisher
Wiflyfisher's profile picture
Wisconsin

Posts: 622
Wiflyfisher on Sep 29, 2016September 29th, 2016, 6:07 pm EDT
Hi John-

I suggest you contact Ethan Bright at ethanbr@umich.edu, but this one is pretty close.


Roger, thanks.. it is nice to see you are still hanging around here. The BugGuide midge looks almost the same and was from MT and says was photographed the end of August 2010. So close to the same time period and area.

I did find another chironomid in France that seemed similar to the chartreuse midge from the West Yellowstone area that I saw.

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