From: Streamer
Posted: Saturday,
May 6, 2006 09:14 AM on www.flyfishingonly.net
Mike found this on the shop door
yesterday, apparently waiting to come in, and (it being the first mayfly he'd
seen this year) Mike obliged. By the time I got there (ten of ten), Mike had him
in a display case by the cash register, so I got to look at him close up. It's
hard to tell from the photograph, but this little guy does have 3 tails.
This link:
http://www.flyfishingentomology.com/index.html has a simplified
identification window. However, when I input the description of the
Mayfly, it comes back with no match (maybe I'm getting the length-without
the tails-wrong). Maybe someone else will have better luck with it.
Streamer-
I believe the mayfly in question to be a Black Quill,
Leptophlibia cupida male imago.
The probable reason you didn't get a match is that 15 mm. is not within the published body length range for a Leptophlebia spinner. I suspect 15 mm. may be an exaggeration of body length, as it seems to be in disparity with the #10-#12 hook size estimate.
Here are the parameters I entered and the description of the insect that my Adult Mayfly Identification screen ultimately led to:
Number of tails = 3
Body length = 12 mm.
Fore wings = ?
Hind wings = ?
Other distinguishing characters: middle tail shorter
Emergence water type: ?
Emergence behavior: ?
Emergence light condition: ?
Geographic location: USA:NE
--------------------------------------------------- Scientific name:Leptophlebia cupida Previously know as:Baetis ignava, Blasturus austrinus, Blasturus collinus, Blasturus concinnus, Blasturus cupidus, Blasturus gravastellus, Cloe quebecensis, Ephemera cupida, Ephemera hebes, Ephemerella quebecensis, Heptagenia quebecensis, Leptophlebia austrina, LeptophlebiaCommon name: Black Quill
Locality: E, M, W
Nymphal habitat: lakes and streams w/slow current or still backwaters
Voltinism:Emergence (begin) date: mid-Apr
Emergence (end) date: late-Aug
Emergence time of day: midday and afternoon
Spinner fall time of day: afternoon Dun minimum length: 9 mm.
Dun maximum length: 12 mm.
Dun identification keys:Dun body description: dark brown or brownish gray w/distinct banding
Dun wings: dark slate gray, heavily washed w/brown, darkest in stigmatic area, large eliptical hind wing w/o costal angulation
Dun legs: front black, rear creamish brown
Dun tails: 3, olive-brown, paler than body Spinner minimum length: 8 mm.
Spinner maximum length: 12.5 mm.
Spinner identification keys: male claspers w/3 joints; head of male dark brown, almost black; bases of antennae ringed w/dark brown; face margined w/dark brown; eyes large, not meeting on top of head; eye of male conspicuously divided into lower and upper parts, upper element dark mahogany-brown, lower element nearly black
Spinner body description: dark reddish brown w/pale yellow bands
Spinner wings: hyaline w/light to medium brown veins; forewings base and stigmatic area lightly washed w/brown
Spinner legs: bases ringed w/dark brown, femora and tibiae of forelegs dark brown, nearly black, tarsi smoky-brown, middle and hind legs medium brown w/olive reflections, tarsi slightly darker than femora and tibiae
Spinner tails: 3, smoky-brown, darker basally, paler apically, narrowly ringed w/dark brown at joinings; middle tail weaker and slightly less than half as long as outer two
Roger
