Mayfly Genus Heptagenia
Taxonomic Navigation -?-
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
» Class Insecta (Insects)
» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)
» Family Heptageniidae (March Browns, Cahills, Quill Gordons)
» Genus Heptagenia
| Species in Heptagenia |  |  |
| Heptagenia culacantha | 0 | 0 |
| Heptagenia diabasia | 0 | 0 |
| Heptagenia elegantulaPale Evening Dun | 0 | 0 |
| Heptagenia pullaGolden Dun | 1 | 5 |
| Heptagenia solitariaGray Fox | 0 | 0 |
7 species aren't included.
Of the remaining species, the best hatches come from Heptagenia elegantula in the West. The genus is generally unimportant in the East and Midwest, where the most likely species to produce fishable hatches is Heptagenia pulla.
Hatching Behavior
Heptagenia nymphs emerge very quickly, so emerger patterns are unimportant. The duns may or may not float long enough to get trout excited.Spinner Behavior
Spinner falls give the most promising action produced by Heptagenia species.4 Mayfly Specimens in the Genus Heptagenia:
Heptagenia pulla (Golden Dun) Mayfly Nymph
View 5 PicturesI used a microscope to positively identify this nymph as Heptagenia pulla.
View 5 PicturesI used a microscope to positively identify this nymph as Heptagenia pulla.Region: Upper Midwest
Collected Jun 5, 2005
Added May 25, 2006
Recent Discussions of Heptagenia
Link to pictures of H. culacantha 2 Replies »
Posted by Troutnut on Oct 20, 2006 in the species Heptagenia culacantha
Last reply on Oct 4, 2007 by Troutnut
Many thanks to user Softhackle for digging up this link. I knew about the thread from back when it started, but I wasn't able to find it when I went back to look last night. Good work!
Fly Fisherman Magazine forum topic with two pictures of a H. culacantha dun.
I've added the species to the "live" part of the database and put up a rudimentary page where I can compile any more information we find.
ReplyDoes anyone know anything about Heptagenia culacantha? 8 Replies »Fly Fisherman Magazine forum topic with two pictures of a H. culacantha dun.
I've added the species to the "live" part of the database and put up a rudimentary page where I can compile any more information we find.
Posted by GONZO on Oct 19, 2006 in the species Heptagenia culacantha
Last reply on Apr 18, 2007 by Konchu
This is a shot in the dark, but I'm trying to track down descriptive information about a rather rare "mystery mayfly." Heptagenia culacantha was identified in 1985 (Evans, Botts, & Flowers). About all I have right now is a tease from the Journal of the New York Entomological Society--"This infrequently taken species, one of the largest and most striking North American heptageniids, is known only from Pennsylvania and New York."
The reason I'm so interested is that I believe I encounter a fishable hatch of these mayflies every season on one of my favorite PA brook trout headwaters. If that conjures a picture of fishing to 6-7" dinks, you'll need to double those numbers to appreciate how special this stream really is. Add to that an image of the fish rising to these beautiful "mystery mayflies" that hatch in the evening, following a day-long emergence of Dark Green Drakes (Litobrancha recurvata)!
It is such a special event that it is one of the very few things that can pull me away from fishing my favorite Olive Morning Dun hatch (Drunella lata, nee cornuta). Help!
ReplyAdded more Heptagenia culacantha infoThe reason I'm so interested is that I believe I encounter a fishable hatch of these mayflies every season on one of my favorite PA brook trout headwaters. If that conjures a picture of fishing to 6-7" dinks, you'll need to double those numbers to appreciate how special this stream really is. Add to that an image of the fish rising to these beautiful "mystery mayflies" that hatch in the evening, following a day-long emergence of Dark Green Drakes (Litobrancha recurvata)!
It is such a special event that it is one of the very few things that can pull me away from fishing my favorite Olive Morning Dun hatch (Drunella lata, nee cornuta). Help!
Posted by Troutnut on Dec 19, 2006 in the species Heptagenia culacantha
I went to the entomology library today and photocopied the 1985 paper that first described this curious species. I've updated the culacantha page with this information.
ReplyThere are 5 more topics.
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