Updates from July 1, 2005
A whitetail doe and her fawn lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike.
A brood of trout-eating mergansers lurks on a fertile trout stream.
Female Ephemerellidae (Hendricksons, Sulphurs, PMDs, BWOs) Mayfly Spinner
View 6 PicturesI'm not sure of the species of this female spinner, and unfortunately I never found the associated males or duns to aid in identification. The egg-laying flight and fall of fairly large clouds of these females caused good rises of choosy trout for a week or so around early July on a large, cold spring creek in the northwoods. There is a distinctive stripe down the female's back, identical to that on this specimen collected a month later. Cicadidae (Cicadas) Cicada Adult
View 4 PicturesI found this cicada and several like it in the grass near my car as I put my waders on. Some of them were singing in the trees above the river, too, but I did not see any fall into the water. Female Baetis (Blue-Winged Olives) Mayfly Dun
View 4 PicturesI'm guessing this specimen is in the genus Acerpenna because of the very sharp costal process (Costal process: A bump or point sticking up from the front margin of an insect's wing, usually the rear wing of certain mayflies. It is sometimes called a costal projection.) on her hind wing. I'm guessing pygmaea because it is the most common species.
Editor note: Not Acerpenna. This is most likely Baetis. See comments on this male specimen for rationale. Also compare with the female specimen associated with it. Female Ephemerellidae (Hendricksons, Sulphurs, PMDs, BWOs) Mayfly Dun
View 5 PicturesI found this little dun floating down the water's surface stuck in her nymphal shuck (Shuck: The shed exoskeleton left over when an insect molts into its next stage or instar. Most often it describes the last nymphal or pupal skin exited during emergence into a winged adult.). Such stillborn (Stillborn: In fly fishing, a stillborn insect is one which got stuck in its nymphal or pupal shuck during emergence and floats helplessly on the surface instead of flying away. It is a specific class of cripple, although it is sometimes used interchangeably with that term.) insects are sometiems targeted by the trout. I brought this one home to photograph since it's a species I don't have yet, but I haven't figured out which one.
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