Mayflies
Mayflies are the most important insects for anglers to understand, because they are common on trout streams, they often hatch in frenzied bursts of activity, and their behavior varies so widely between families and sometimes even species that it's useful to know and imitate the habits of each. They are a primitive order of insects, and their elegance and delicate lives have made them popular beyond the world of trout fishing.
This common name refers to only one order.
Insect Order Ephemeroptera
These are pretty much always called Mayflies.
Mayflies may be the most important insects for trout anglers to understand. They are famous outside the fly fishing world for their fragile beauty and short adult lifespan, usually a single day to mate and die. The mayfly's poignant drama attracts poets and fishermen alike, but fishermen make the most of it.
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olives) Mayfly Nymph
View 10 PicturesThis male nymph is probably in its final 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.). The wing pads (Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.) are extremely black and the large turbinate (Turbinate: Shaped like a top or elevated on a stalk; usually refers to the eyes of some adult male Baetidae mayflies which are wider near the tip than at the base.) eyes are very apparent inside the nymph's head.
View 10 PicturesThis male nymph is probably in its final 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.). The wing pads (Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.) are extremely black and the large turbinate (Turbinate: Shaped like a top or elevated on a stalk; usually refers to the eyes of some adult male Baetidae mayflies which are wider near the tip than at the base.) eyes are very apparent inside the nymph's head.
View Full Size
Region: Upper Midwest
Collected Jun 9, 2005
Added May 26, 2006
Female Ephemera guttulata (Green Drake) Mayfly Dun
View 16 PicturesIt's about time I got a green drake on this site!
View 16 PicturesIt's about time I got a green drake on this site!Region: Catskills
Collected Jun 1, 2007
Added Jun 4, 2007
Male Hexagenia atrocaudata (Late Hex) Mayfly Spinner
View 12 Pictures
View 12 PicturesRegion: Upper Midwest
Collected Jul 24, 2005
Added Apr 15, 2006
Female Maccaffertium (March Browns and Cahills) Mayfly Adult
View 13 Pictures
View 13 PicturesRegion: Upper Midwest
Collected May 26, 2005
Added May 16, 2006
See 512 more specimens...
New features!
