**Mayfly Species Baetis tricaudatus (Blue-Winged Olive)**

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)

» Family Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olives)

» Genus Baetis (Blue-Winged Olives)

» Species tricaudatus (Blue-Winged Olive)

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Blue-Winged Olive
	Rusty Spinner
	Little Blue-Winged Olive
	Iron Blue Quill
	BWO
	Little Iron Blue Quill
	Light Blue Dun
	Light Rusty Spinner

Fly Imitations by Orvis

Stage	Fly Pattern
Dun	Blue Winged Olive

Pictures Below ↓

Anglers used to know these mayflies by the revered name of Baetis vagans. Baetis tricaudatus was a Western species of relative obscurity, but entomologists recently discovered that it's the same species as the popular Eastern vagans. The scientific conventions guiding entomologists do not account for a name's fame among fishermen, and new or obscure species names sometimes replace our old favorites. Baetis vagans is one such casualty.

Fortunately, brown trout think like Shakespeare: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The rose that was vagans has lost none of its charm.

Where & When

Regions: East, Midwest, West
Time Of Year (?): Three broods: Late March to April, late June, and September
Altitude: Any elevation, including high-altitude Western creeks

Every Eastern or Midwestern angler is likely to encounter the Baetis tricaudatus hatch each season, as are anglers on fertile Western streams. Good streams produce three broods with distinct peaks, but each may last long enough to overlap with the next, meaning that this mayfly can be found at almost any time in the season.

Hatching Behavior

Time Of Day (?): Warmest part of the afternoon (at least for the early brood)
Habitat: Slow water
Water Temperature: 40°F and up

Nymph Biology

Current Speed: Any
Substrate: Gravel, vegetation

Baetis tricaudatus Fly Fishing Tips

Caucci and Nastasi note in Hatches II that the original Western version of Baetis tricaudatus is of a noticeably different color from the Eastern population that was formerly Baetis vagans, so one color of imitation may not work in both places.

2 Mayfly Specimens in the Species Baetis tricaudatus:

Baetis tricaudatus (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun