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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.

The "Fountain Flats" stretch of the Firehole was fishable in the morning after an uncharacteristically cold August night.

From the Firehole River in Wyoming

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Perlodidae (Springflies and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Nymph Perlodidae (Springflies and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Nymph

Artistic view of a Perlodidae (Springflies and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

This one seems to lead to Couplet 35 of the Key to Genera of Perlodidae Nymphs and the genus Isoperla, but I'm skeptical that's correct based on the general look. I need to get it under the microscope to review several choices in the key, and it'll probably end up a different Perlodidae.

11 Recently Added Photos

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.

Trout Streams
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Wisconsin
›
The Long Lake Branch of the White River

Trout Streams
›
Wisconsin
›
The Long Lake Branch of the White River

Closeup insects by Troutnut from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

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Rhyacophila (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Pupa

Rhyacophila (Rhyacophilidae) (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Pupa from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

I collected this pupa and several like it from the same stream and on the same day as this larva. I suspect they're the same species. Every pupa I collected was in a brown casing like the one shown in one of the pictures below. I cut this pupa out of its case after a picture so you can see more details. It is close to but not fully developed.

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Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

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Drunella cornuta (Large Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Drunella cornuta (Ephemerellidae) (Large Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

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Rhithrogena impersonata (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

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Rhyacophila fuscula (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Rhyacophila fuscula (Rhyacophilidae) (Green Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

I collected this larva and several like it from the same stream and on the same day as this pupa. I suspect they're the same species.

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Rhithrogena impersonata (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Rhithrogena impersonata (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

This specimen shows one of two distinct color types of Rhithrogena impersonata nymphs. This type is very reddish, especially in the gills, perhaps a representative of the form formerly known as a separate speciesRhithrogena sanguinea.

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Female Heptageniidae (March Browns, Cahills, Quill Gordons) Mayfly Dun

Dorsal view of a Female Heptageniidae (March Browns, Cahills, Quill Gordons) Mayfly Dun from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

This specimen is really strange, very different in form from any other mayfly I've seen. Unfortunately it was found alone crippled in an eddy and in pretty bad shape, and I couldn't find any others like it.

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Heptagenia pulla (Golden Dun) Mayfly Nymph

Lateral view of a Heptagenia pulla (Heptageniidae) (Golden Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

I used a microscope to positively identify this nymph as Heptagenia pulla. (Edit six years later: I wish I had explained why I was positive about this. It may have been based on color patterns in an angling text, which are not especially reliable for species ID anymore.)

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Ephemerella needhami (Little Dark Hendrickson) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella needhami (Ephemerellidae) (Little Dark Hendrickson) Mayfly Nymph from the Long Lake Branch of the White River in Wisconsin

This specimen strikingly resembles another specimen from about 1300 miles away in the Catskills, which I tentatively called Ephemerella aurivillii. This one has much more prominent abdominal tubercles. It may be that they're both the same species and I don't have my identifications straight.

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