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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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PaulRoberts has attached this picture to aid in identification. The message is below.
PaulRoberts
PaulRoberts's profile picture
Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Feb 1, 2018February 1st, 2018, 4:43 am EST
Hey folks! Hope all is well. I've been on warmwater ponds doing underwater video work. Haven't chased trout in a while. But I did video a small brown being narfed by a larger one! Never know what might happen down there.

Anyway, I have been working out shooting warmwater aquatic microinverts, and I came across these tiny caddis. They are likely fairly early instars as they are minute, and were caught beneath ice cover. They swim quite well with their long bristled oar-like legs. Any guesses?
Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Feb 1, 2018February 1st, 2018, 3:58 pm EST
Paul - appears to be a leptercerid, several of which are good swimmers. How small is it? The tapered case is unusual for the swimming genera so maybe it will change it case shape in the later instars. Creno
PaulRoberts
PaulRoberts's profile picture
Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Feb 2, 2018February 2nd, 2018, 1:28 am EST
Hi Dave, That would make sense. They are tiny -the smallest I'm guessing 1-2mm, the one pictured maybe 3mm. Ah!...The one in the picture got wedged between the glass sheets that made the tiny aquarium I was using. That gap is 2mm -so 2mm is the height on the anterior end of the case. So, yeah, I think 3mm to 4mm for the length of the larger larva.

They are, apparently, pretty common in the Elodea and coontail here.

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