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

> > Timpanoga hecuba



Millcreek has attached these 3 pictures. The message is below.
View Full SizeView Full Size (1.4X larger)
In alcohol. Collected July 28, 2007. 9 mm (excluding cerci).
In alcohol. Collected July 28, 2007. 9 mm (excluding cerci).
View Full SizeView Full Size (1.3X larger)
In alcohol. Collected July 28, 2007. 9 mm (excluding cerci).
In alcohol. Collected July 28, 2007. 9 mm (excluding cerci).
View Full SizeView Full Size (1.3X larger)
In alcohol. Collected August 14, 2008. 10 mm (excluding cerci).
In alcohol. Collected August 14, 2008. 10 mm (excluding cerci).
Post Reply
MillcreekSeptember 17th, 2014, 2:56 pm
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 356		IDed these nymphs to genus using Merritt, Cummins and Berg (2008). The genus is monotypic. The only species in the genus is Timpanoga hecuba which is divided into two subspecies, Timpanoga hecuba hecuba and Timpanoga hecuba pacifica. Personally, I think it should just be a single species. The nymphs of the two subspecies as described by Allen and Edmunds are separated by either having spines on the posterior edges of the abdominal tergites (Timpanoga hecuba pacifica) or not (Timpanoga hecuba hecuba). Collections I've gotten from Mill Creek (tributary of the Russian River) have the spines on about half the specimens while the others are entirely without. So far as I know only Timpanoga hecuba pacifica has had the adults described.

The paper by Allen and Edmunds describing Timpanoga hecuba and its division into the two subspecies is "A Revision of the Genus Ephemerella (Ephemeroptera: Ephemerellidae). I. The Subgenus Timpanoga" and can be found here: http://www.ephemeroptera-galactica.com/pubs/pub_a/puballenr1959p51.pdf

The nymphs are most common from mid-summer through late fall and are found in slack water at the edges of pools or glides. They often have a coating of silt on them.
TaxonSeptember 17th, 2014, 10:58 pm
Site Editor
Royse City, TX

Posts: 1350		Hi Mark-

You might find this link to be either interesting, or entertaining, or both, as it chronicles Kurt's and my collective identification of a Timpanoga hecuba pacifica nymph, which I had collected years earlier.
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
MillcreekSeptember 17th, 2014, 11:49 pm
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 356		Roger-

I found it both interesting and entertaining. Especially liked the first elimination of a species by you and Kurt.

If larger than an inch - Horseshoe Crab :)


But I still don't think the subspecies are justified given the rather tenuous and variable distinction of spines versus no spines on the abdominal tergites. By that criteria the ones I've collected in a 100 yard stretch of Mill Creek are about equally divided between the two subspecies, some having spines and some without.


Jmd123September 17th, 2014, 11:56 pm
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2611		WOW Mark, those are cool-looking creatures! And I must add that your photography is superb. You have definitely been a fine addition to this website and I know the "hard-core bug guys" feel the same. Thanks for your contributions!

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
MillcreekSeptember 18th, 2014, 10:43 am
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 356		Jonathan-

Thanks, I've enjoyed posting to this site. I get to show off some of the local bugs and as a bonus get advice on identification and habits of some of them.

As far as photography is concerned it's certainly gotten easier with digital cameras. No more film to buy, no more developing costs and with the PHD (Push Here Dummy) features all you have to do is take enough pics and a few are bound to be good.

WOW Mark, those are cool-looking creatures!

Yeah, a little more size to them and they could star in "Timpanoga vs Godzilla".

By the way, nice fish in your last post.
OldredbarnSeptember 18th, 2014, 10:50 am
Novi, MI

Posts: 2608		What was mother nature up to with this one?! Wow! It looks as if it has been pressed in a book. And that crab-like abdomen...

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
MillcreekSeptember 18th, 2014, 8:44 pm
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 356
What was mother nature up to with this one?! Wow! It looks as if it has been pressed in a book.

I'm not sure what mother nature or evolution were up to flattening it out like that but I suspect since the nymphs sit out in the open on flat silty areas that a low profile makes them a little less noticeable to sculpins as well as predatory stonefly and dragonfly larvae. In addition they quite often have a lot of debris that gets caught on those hairy little bodies. A good example can be seen here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/74565
Jmd123September 19th, 2014, 3:18 am
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2611		"Yeah, a little more size to them and they could star in "Timpanoga vs Godzilla"."

Had to LOL a few times on that remark, still doing so!!

You know, I immediately thought of a clinger nymph in the family Heptageniidae, all flattened out so it could hold onto a rock in mid-riffle waters, eyes on top of the head, etc. But slow silty waters?? What family is this bug in? With those operculate gill covers?

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
MillcreekSeptember 19th, 2014, 9:06 am
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 356
What family is this bug in? With those operculate gill covers?

It's a member of Ephemerellidae. There's another member of Ephemerellidae in this area with operculate gill covers, Eurylophella lodi.
The nymphs of Eurylophella lodi prefer faster waters with a clean bottom. A couple photos can be seen here:http://bugguide.net/node/view/879110
Feathers5September 19th, 2014, 9:25 am
Posts: 287Okay, what kind of bug is it? It doesn't look like the bug in the link you provided. Your photos seem to indicate a short, squat bug body. The one in the link is long and skinny. Is it a sulfur?
MillcreekSeptember 19th, 2014, 9:33 am
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 356
It doesn't look like the bug in the link you provided. Your photos seem to indicate a short, squat bug body. The one in the link is long and skinny.

They're different in appearance and different species, but members of the same family. I was just trying to show that the gill structure was similar. It's unusual for Ephemerellidae.

Is it a sulfur?

No, but given it's evil appearance it may come from a place with a sulfurous aroma.:)

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
Hesperoperla pacifica
In Hesperoperla pacifica Stonefly Nymph by Millcreek		0
Re: Timpanoga?
In the Identify This! Board by CalebBoyle		3Apr 5, 2008
by Troutnut
Re: Western Colorado Green Drakes
In General Discussion by WestCO		40Aug 20, 2012
by PaulRoberts
Re: Hecuba
In General Discussion by Sayfu		12Aug 14, 2012
by Sayfu
Re: Calineuria californica and Hesperoperla pacifica
(3 more)

In the Photography Board by Millcreek		1Jan 30, 2016
by Martinlf
More Baetis nymphs
(2 more)

In the Identify This! Board by Millcreek		0
Re: Hesperoperla or Calineuria
In Male Calineuria californica Stonefly Adult by Millcreek		2Jul 22, 2019
by Millcreek
Hexagenia Limbata (Hex) Nymph in Captivity
In the Insect Order Ephemeroptera by Hdhungryman		0
Re: So is Ep Infrequens now known as Ep Dorothea?
In the Mayfly Species Ephemerella dorothea infrequens by Wbranch		20Jul 1, 2014
by Crepuscular
Re: Diphetor
In Baetis Mayfly Nymph by Earlfishman		5Apr 13, 2007
by Troutnut