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Ginger Quills

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Scientific Names

Match	Scientific Name
	Stenacron
	Heptagenia solitaria
	Maccaffertium vicarium

Like most common names, "Ginger Quill" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 9 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.

Mayfly Genus Stenacron

These are often called Ginger Quills.

The species in this genus were formerly classified in Stenonema. See the genus Maccaffertium for details. Only one species, Stenacron interpunctatum, is important to fly fishermen. See its page for details.

Stenacron (Light Cahills) Mayfly Nymph

View 2 Pictures

Collected August 8, 2004 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on January 18, 2006

Male Stenacron (Light Cahills) Mayfly Dun

View 13 Pictures

Collected May 27, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on May 22, 2006

Male Stenacron interpunctatum (Light Cahill) Mayfly Spinner

View 8 Pictures

Collected June 10, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on May 26, 2006

See 4 more specimens...

Mayfly Species Heptagenia solitaria

These are often called Ginger Quills.

Heptagenia solitaria (Ginger Quill) Mayfly Nymph

View 1 Pictures

Collected February 27, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on June 28, 2011

Male Heptagenia solitaria (Ginger Quill) Mayfly Spinner

View 3 Pictures

Collected July 5, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on June 27, 2011

Heptagenia solitaria (Ginger Quill) Mayfly Adult

View 4 PicturesThis species is common in the Flathead River below Kerr Day. The river here is fairly warm with a cobble and boulder bottom with heavy periphyton at times. This species is not common elsewhere in western Montana.

Collected July 4, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on June 28, 2011

Mayfly Species Maccaffertium vicarium

These are very rarely called Ginger Quills.

In the East and Midwest this is one of the most important hatches of the Spring. They are large flies which emerge sporadically, making for long days of good fishing.

This species contains the two classic Eastern hatches formerly known as Stenonema vicarium and Stenonema fuscum, the "March Brown" and "Gray Fox." Entomologists have discovered that these mayflies belong to the same species, but they still display differences in appearance which the trout notice easily. Anglers should be prepared to imitate both types.

Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Nymph

View 4 PicturesI photographed this Maccaffertium vicarium nymph shortly after it molted to a new instar (Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.) in my holding container. Many nymphs take on drastically different coloration immediately after molting, and this species is no exception.

Collected April 19, 2006 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on April 21, 2006

Male Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Dun

View 10 PicturesI collected this mayfly on the same trip as a female of the same species. After these photos it molted into a spinner. This is the form of Maccaffertium vicarium which anglers call the "Gray Fox."

Collected May 28, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on May 24, 2006

Male Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Spinner

View 5 PicturesThis spinner comes from a dun I collected and photographed earlier.

Collected May 28, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on May 24, 2006

See 10 more specimens...

Jargon Defined:

Dun: Mayflies have two adult stages. They first emerge from the water as duns (scientifically known as the subimago stage). They then molt into the spinner (imago) stage, in which they mate and die. Sometimes the word "dun" is confusingly used to refer to a brownish gray color in fly tying materials.

Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.

Molting: When aquatic insects with hard exoskeletons (like mayfly and stonefly nymphs) grow bigger, their exoskeleton does not grow with them. Instead they grow a new, larger one underneath and shed the old one when it's too small. This process is called molting.

Nymph: The juvenile, underwater stages of mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies and other aquatic insects whose juvenile stages are covered by hard exoskeletons. The word can also refer to the fishing flies which imitate these creatures, in which case it is used as a blanket term for flies imitating any underwater stage of an invertebrate (except for crayfish and leeches).

Spinner: There are two winged stages of adult mayflies. They emerge from the water as duns, molt on land (usually) into their fully mature stage, spinners. As spinners, they mate, lay eggs, and die.