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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.

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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Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Oct 14, 2019October 14th, 2019, 6:24 am EDT
" There is something to be said for hiking up 2-3 miles and fishing with the call of elk in the background. I'm just happy and blessed the place is there to go to when city life has me hemmed in."

It is restorative to the soul. That's why I live up here in northern lower MI, where I have spectacular fall colors out my back windows and twenty or so turkeys walking across the lawn out my front...for more see my latest post.

Enjoy your local nature and closest wildernesses, and tight lines on all species!

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Oct 14, 2019October 14th, 2019, 6:27 am EDT
BTW if you do pop a few of those rarer species or subspecies please take some nice pics before you free them! We would all love to see them on here.

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Red_green_h
Red_green_h's profile picture
New Mexico

Posts: 64
Red_green_h on Oct 14, 2019October 14th, 2019, 12:17 pm EDT
>BTW if you do pop a few of those rarer species or subspecies please take some nice pics before you free them! We would all love to see them on here.<

Click on my profile pic. It's one I caught last spring.

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