» Species ithaca (Light Cahill)
Common Names
Where & WhenRegions: East, Midwest
Time Of Year (?): June through early September; peaks in late June
Preferred Waters: Medium to large streams
This is primarily an Eastern species, but a couple books report that it produces fishable action in the Midwest as well.Hatching BehaviorTime Of Day (?): Often spread out all day long; compressed toward dusk in hot weather
This species emerges much more gracefully than Maccaffertium vicarium, so emerger patterns are not as important.
The duns are better to match, since they may drift for quite a while time to dry their wings and make a commotion getting off the water. Caucci and Nastasi report in Hatches II that their stomach samples verify this preference for the duns.Spinner BehaviorTime Of Day: Late afternoon to dusk, depending on weather
Habitat: Riffles
The spinners fall spent (Spent: The wing position of many aquatic insects when they fall on the water after mating. The wings of both sides lay flat on the water. The word may be used to describe insects with their wings in that position, as well as the position itself.) to the water to lay their eggs.Nymph BiologyCurrent Speed: Riffles and runs
Substrate: Gravel
Pictures of 4 Mayfly Specimens in the Species Maccaffertium ithaca:
Maccaffertium ithaca (Light Cahill) Mayfly Dun
View 9 PicturesThis dun emerged from a nymph in one of the bowls on my table while I was sorting. I photographed it with the 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.), and it seems to be of the same species as a nymph I photographed from the same sample. Your Thoughts On Maccaffertium ithaca:
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