Mayfly Family Ephemeridae (Hexes and Big Drakes)
Taxonomic Navigation -?-
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
» Class Insecta (Insects)
» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)
» Family Ephemeridae (Hexes and Big Drakes)
| Genus in Ephemeridae | ||
| Ephemera | 21 | 136 |
| Hexagenia | 26 | 149 |
| Litobrancha | 0 | 0 |
Common Name
| Match | Common Name |
| Hexes and Big Drakes |
This is page 2 of streamside pictures of Ephemeridae. Visit the main Ephemeridae page for:
- The behavior and habitat of Ephemeridae.
- Studio pictures of 47 Ephemeridae specimens.
- 3 underwater pictures of Ephemeridae.
6 Streamside Pictures of Ephemeridae Mayflies:

Two Ephemera simulans (Brown Drake) spinners hang from tree leaves along the river. It's worthwhile to look for these in afternoons during the Brown Drake hatch, because their presence may reveal the best place to fish in the evening.
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemera simulans (Brown Drake).
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemera simulans (Brown Drake).

This is the skin a brown drake dun shed when it molted into a spinner. Many of these were on the surface one afternoon, having been blown in after the flies molted on overhanging alders. They were our most noticeable sign of an intense brown drake hatch the previous night and a spinner fall to come.
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemera simulans (Brown Drake).
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemera simulans (Brown Drake).

I didn't manage to collect a nymph, but here's the hollow shuck (
Shuck: The shed exoskeleton left over when an insect molts into its next stage or instar. Most often it describes the last nymphal or pupal skin exited during emergence into a winged adult.) left over from an emerged dun, showing the basic pattern of the nymph.
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemera guttulata (Green Drake).

Here's an underwater view of the pupal shucks of several already-emerged Brachycentrus numerosus caddisflies.
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemera guttulata (Green Drake).
