Animals

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Scientific Name

Match	Scientific Name
	Animalia

This common name refers to only one kingdom.

Animal Kingdom Animalia

These are pretty much always called Animals.

Metazoa is the kingdom of animals. Worms are metazoans and so were the dinosaurs. Trout and mayflies are metazoans. You are probably a metazoan.

See Arthropoda for most of the invertebrates trout eat, or skip straight to the insect orders Ephemeroptera (Mayflies), Trichoptera (Caddisflies), or Plecoptera (Stoneflies), which are the three most important.

The non-arthropod classes are listed on this site only to hold pictures, so far, and I haven't put much information up yet about them.

Platyhelminthes (Flatworms) Flatworm

View 5 PicturesThis specimen is in the subphylum Turbellaria, a non-parasitic flatworm.

Collected June 13, 2019 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on June 15, 2019

Argia Damselfly Nymph

View 3 PicturesMy friend Willy captured this early 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.) damselfly nymph and brought it to me for identification. It is more robust and stocky at this early stage than the spindly appearance of the later instars (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.), and its appearance is less familiar.

Collected August 28, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on April 14, 2006

Corydalus (Dobsonflies) Hellgrammite Larva

View 27 Pictures

Collected May 29, 2007 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on June 4, 2007

Male Baetis (Blue-Winged Olives) Mayfly Dun

View 14 PicturesThis dun molted most of the way into a spinner (though the wings got stuck) the evening after I photographed it, so I took some more photos of the spinner.

I found a female nearby, probably of the same species.

Collected September 19, 2006 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on October 4, 2006

Male Isonychia bicolor (Mahogany Dun) Mayfly Spinner

View 15 PicturesI got several really nice pictures of this spinner. I also collected a female on the same trip.

Collected August 9, 2006 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on August 11, 2006

Rhyacophila (Green Sedges) Caddisfly Pupa

View 11 PicturesI 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.

Collected June 5, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on May 25, 2006

Cambaridae Crayfish Juvenile

View 2 Pictures

Collected January 13, 2004 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on January 25, 2006

Neophylax (Autumn Mottled Sedges) Caddisfly Adult

View 20 PicturesThis large caddisfly looks really neat close-up.

Collected September 19, 2006 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on October 4, 2006

See 1147 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.

Larva: Many classes of aquatic insects, such as caddisflies, midges, craneflies, dobsonflies, alderflies, and many more, are known as "larvae" rather than "nymphs" in their juvenile stages. They have mostly soft bodies rather than hard exoskeletons. These insects also advance through a "pupa" stage before reaching adulthood.

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).

Pupa: Any insect which spends most of its juvenile lifetime as a larva first becomes a pupa for a time before emerging as a fully grown adult. Depending on the species, the pupal form can be very important for fly fishermen to imitate.

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.