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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Lateral view of a Psychodidae True Fly Larva from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington
This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
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.

Lateral view of a Rhyacophila (Rhyacophilidae) (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from Mystery Creek #249 in Washington
Dave Ruiter identified this specimen as part of the Rhyacophila betteni group, but with over 20 species it's difficult to narrow down beyond that.
Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Aug 8, 2019August 8th, 2019, 4:02 pm EDT
This is one of the Rhyacophila betteni group. The R. betteni group consists of over 20 widespread, western species; common in small to medium, rocky trout streams.
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Aug 10, 2019August 10th, 2019, 5:43 am EDT
Thanks Dave. Would it be worth sending you these last two Rhyacophilas for species IDs, or are the individual species too poorly described to key out?
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Aug 10, 2019August 10th, 2019, 9:52 am EDT
Jason - I doubt I can place species names on the larvae. We are still working out the details of the adults. If you preserve material in 90%+ ETOH you can submit to the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) for dna analysis which is very useful for future larval associations.

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