Mayfly Genus Callibaetis (Speckled Duns)
Taxonomic Navigation -?-
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
» Class Insecta (Insects)
» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)
» Family Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olives)
» Genus Callibaetis (Speckled Duns)
| Species in Callibaetis |  |  |
| Callibaetis ferrugineusSpeckled Dun | 1 | 3 |
| Callibaetis fluctuansSpeckled Dun | 0 | 0 |
| Callibaetis pallidusSpeckled Dun | 0 | 0 |
| Callibaetis pretiosusSpeckled Dun | 0 | 0 |
8 species aren't included.
Common Names
| Match | Common Name |
 | Speckled Duns |
 | Speckle-Wings |
| Blue-Winged Olives |
 | Speckled-Winged Duns |
| Gray Quills |
 | Speckled-Winged Spinners |
| Speckled-Winged Quills |
| Dark Speckled-Winged Quills |
Fly Imitations by Orvis
| Stage | Fly Pattern |
| Dun | Blue Winged Olive |
The duns and spinners are easily recognized by their distinctive wings, a dark background overlayed with light veins -- see the pictures.
Where & When
Time Of Year (?): May through October; best in Summer
Preferred Waters: Mostly lakes and ponds; sometimes slow rivers
Callibaetis species usually produce two, and sometimes up to four, broods in a single season. Their peak times vary widely by location.Preferred Waters: Mostly lakes and ponds; sometimes slow rivers
Hatching Behavior
Time Of Day (?): Daytime
Callibaetis duns emerge on the surface and usually leave the water quickly after hatching. Knopp and Cormier write in Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera that the nymphs make several trips to and from the surface before hatching, a habit more common in the Ephemerellidae family. The hatch may last for several hours on the cold, dark days these mayflies prefer.Spinner Behavior
Time Of Day: Dusk
Fred Arbona describes the distinctive look of the airborne spinners in Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout:They have distinctive flight patterns consisting of foot-long, fast vertical undulations as if they were suspended on invisible rubber bands.
A very interesting quirk of this genus, according to Knopp and Cormier, is that the tiny nymphs hatch from the fertilized eggs almost as soon as they hit the water. To make this possible, the females have to wait on land for several days after mating before they can oviposit.
Nymph Biology
Current Speed: Still or slow
Substrate: Vegetation, silt
The nymphs are excellent swimmers in their slow-water environment, and they dart around among the aquatic vegetation, often perching on stems and leaves in plain view of their predators. Trout may forage actively through the weeds for them, stirring up the plants to knock the nymphs loose.Substrate: Vegetation, silt
Callibaetis Fly Fishing Tips
Because these nymphs are so common in some waters, their imitations make good searching patterns (Searching pattern: Any artificial fly pattern used when trout that aren't feeding selectively on anything in particular. A searching pattern may be an attractor or an imitation of something specific that the fish might favor even though it's not currently hatching.) when nothing's hatching.Knopp and Cormier offer a good tip for fishing the spinners:
The natural spinner's tails are widely spread, and this trait should be copied on all imitations.
1 Mayfly Specimen in the Genus Callibaetis:
Callibaetis ferrugineus (Speckled Dun) Mayfly Dun
View 3 Pictures
View 3 PicturesRegion: Upper Midwest
Collected Jul 14, 2004
Added Jan 25, 2006
Recent Discussions of Callibaetis
Callibaetis Spinner Habits 7 Replies »
Posted by WildcatRob on Sep 8, 2007 in the species Callibaetis ferrugineus
Last reply on Sep 9, 2007 by Taxon
With almost 40 years lake fishing experience in the Northwest (Washington) our callibaetis always seem to start hatching mid afternoon in the evening, mate overnight then the spinners start in the morning. The spinners draw the most intense "rise." I put rise in quotes because it is so delicate there it leaves almost no disturbance at all not even a sip.
Any comments? Hopefully contradictions?
Rob
ReplyAny comments? Hopefully contradictions?
Rob
New features!
