Thinking this is distinctus, but not sure

DayTripper	July 2nd, 2009, 5:13 am
Northern MI Posts: 70	Found this female dun on the East Branch of the Delaware the first weekend in June. It was ~30mm long. I'm pretty sure it's a female distinctus dun, but was hoping someone could confirm. Thanks.

GONZO	July 2nd, 2009, 8:41 am
Site Editor "Bear Swamp," PA Posts: 1681	Alex, This is Ephemera varia. A 30mm size estimate is well above what is typical for either E. varia or A. distinctus, though the size range for varia is underestimated in books like Hatches and Mayflies. They give 13-16mm as the range for both species, but the varia females that I've collected from the Yellow Breeches run between 17-20mm.

DayTripper	July 2nd, 2009, 9:12 am
Northern MI Posts: 70	Thanks Gonzo, I really appreciate it. I knew it had to be one of the two (distinctus or varia), but as you mentioned, the large size didn't fit what my reference books had listed. I know looking at coloration is a no-no when identifying bugs, but the coloration seemed more of a match to the distinctus color plate in Hatches, so I ran with it. Thanks, again.

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