Troutnut.com Fly Fishing for Trout Home
User Password
or register.
Scientific name search:

> > Need help with mayfly nymph ID



RustySpinnr has attached this picture to aid in identification. The message is below.
View Full SizeView Full Size (1.3X larger)
Post Reply
RustySpinnrMarch 26th, 2012, 2:10 pm
Musconetcong watershed, northwest NJ

Posts: 3		I recently took this underwater shot in the Big Flat Brook River in northwest NJ and can't properly ID the mayfly in the picture. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
EntomanMarch 26th, 2012, 3:13 pm
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604		Hi Rusty,

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) to me, based on the dark tergal banding and head markings. A much better look at the gills (and a few other features) is necessary to know for sure, though.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
OldredbarnMarch 26th, 2012, 4:35 pm
Novi, MI

Posts: 2608		Kurt,

You seem to be the man these days...Mr. Bug-ID guy...You are working overtime there fella! Get much sleep? :)

How about that big fat, waiting to be popped off the rock there and in to a trout, caddis larva? :)

Spence

"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
EntomanMarch 26th, 2012, 5:07 pm
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604		Yes, I quit my day job. Jason's pay is much better...:)

The caddis is in the genus Rhyacophila (Green Rockworm, Green Sedge). Based on what can be seen of the the head capsule and notum markings, I suspect the species fuscala.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
RustySpinnrMarch 26th, 2012, 5:59 pm
Musconetcong watershed, northwest NJ

Posts: 3
Hi Rusty,

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) to me, based on the dark tergal banding and head markings. A much better look at the gills (and a few other features) is necessary to know for sure, though.


Thanks, it looks different than most Maccaffertium I come across.
RustySpinnrMarch 26th, 2012, 6:02 pm
Musconetcong watershed, northwest NJ

Posts: 3
Yes, I quit my day job. Jason's pay is much better...:)

The caddis is in the genus Rhyacophila (Green Rockworm, Green Sedge). Based on what can be seen of the the head capsule and notum markings, I suspect the species fuscala.


I'm pretty sure that Rhyaccophila is attacking the cased caddis which is why I loved this shot. I had only noticed the mayfly nymph from walking through the stream and stopped to put my camera underwater to get a better idea of what I was looking at. Only after downloading this picture did I see the other action. In fact, I first thought I might be looking at a stonefly and not a mayfly nymph as I didn't have on polarized glasses at the time...
EntomanMarch 27th, 2012, 5:19 am
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604		Yes, very unusual, especially the reddish legs. As for what that rockworm is dining on, not sure what the heck that is.:)
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
JesseMarch 30th, 2012, 11:07 pm
Posts: 378		That is a great picture my man, nice work!
Most of us fish our whole lives..not knowing its not the fish that we are after.
http://www.filingoflyfishing.com

Quick Reply

You have to be logged in to post on the forum. It's this easy:
Username:          Email:

Password:    Confirm Password:

I am at least 13 years old and agree to the rules.

Related Discussions

TitleRepliesLast Reply
Moved to Acroneuria lycorias
In Acroneuria lycorias Stonefly Nymph by Entoman		0
Acroneuria specimen moved from genus to species level
In Acroneuria carolinensis Stonefly Nymph by Entoman		0
37 New Specimens Today
In General Discussion by Troutnut		0
I. hansoni
In Isogenoides hansoni Stonefly Nymph by GONZO		0
Re: Not Stenacron
In Male Maccaffertium modestum Mayfly Dun by GONZO		2Feb 6, 2012
by Brookyman
SWPA: What's hatching on the home-base?... week of 5/6/11
In General Discussion by Jtberez		0
Re: Which aquatic insects are most vulnerable to pollution???
In the Identify This! Board by Byhaugh		4Aug 14, 2014
by Lastchance
Re: Not sure what this is...
In the Photography Board by Freepow		3Jun 6, 2008
by Freepow
Re: Predicting a hatch?
In the Insect Order Ephemeroptera by U2ill		2Jun 24, 2014
by TNEAL
Hot glue for nymph bodies?
In Fly Tying by Roguerat		0