Troutnut Forum > Get Bugs Identified > Need help Identifying Mayfly?
| JC_in_VA | March 11th, 2007, 9:26 am | |
| Northern VA Posts: 3 | Yesterday (10 Mar 07)I was fishing Passage Creek which is between Front Royal and Strasburg, VA. Around 2:00 PM I picked up a fly that was splashing on the water surface. To me it looked like a Mayfly except it was black and large. Approx. length 1 1/4 inch of body, wing ht.the same, tail about the same. The tail was white, the body was dull coal black, the abdomn had very small white dots around it like ribbing. The wings were upright, very black and shaped like a mayfly. I did not get a good look at the head as it flew away when I was tried to get out the camera. Please let me know what it was. Thank you. | |
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| Troutnut | March 11th, 2007, 11:04 am | |
| Fairbanks, AK Posts: 1115 | Wow, that doesn't describe any mayfly I know. Maybe it's some strange southeastern species of Leptophlebia. It seems more likely it was something other than a mayfly, unless you're absolutely positive that's what it was. | |
| Jason Neuswanger The Troutnut | ||
| Konchu | March 11th, 2007, 4:04 pm | |
| Indiana Posts: 200 | Were the wings solid black, or did they have speckles or pale areas? | |
| JC_in_VA | March 11th, 2007, 7:19 pm | |
| Northern VA Posts: 3 | Troutnut, I am almost sure that it is a Mayfly by the upright, rounded top wings. Konchu, The wings were like a lace with areas that let light thru, making them light almost transparent. Hope this helps. Thanks. | |
| Troutnut | March 11th, 2007, 8:54 pm | |
| Fairbanks, AK Posts: 1115 | I am almost sure that it is a Mayfly by the upright, rounded top wings. Positive it wasn't a damselfly? Normally I wouldn't ask, but they do sometimes hold their rounded wings upright, and it just seems so strange that a mayfly of that size would be around right now. | |
| Jason Neuswanger The Troutnut | ||
| Taxon | March 11th, 2007, 10:08 pm | |
| Mercer Island, WA Posts: 483 | JC- Upright wings and tails of body length would seem to indicate mayfly. Sure can’t think of anything else that description fits. However, a body length of 1.25 inches (~31 mm) would eliminate all but several genera of mayflies, namely Hexagenia and Litobrancha, neither of which would have white tails. The thing that bothers me about your description is that you refer to tail, as if it only had one. Perhaps you were mistaking a long ovipositor for a tail, which would point one in a whole different identification direction. What do you think? | |
| Roger Rohrbeck www.FlyfishingEntomology.com | ||
| JC_in_VA | March 12th, 2007, 4:44 pm | |
| Northern VA Posts: 3 | Roger, It definatly was not the ovipositor as there were two of them. Next time I will be ready with a camera and then we can discuss this fly further. Thanks for all of the help. | |
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