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**Mayfly Species Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown)**

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)

» Family Heptageniidae (March Browns, Cahills, Quill Gordons)

» Genus Maccaffertium (March Browns and Cahills)

» Species vicarium (March Brown)

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	March Brown
	Gray Fox
	American March Brown
	Dark Cahill
	Great Red Spinner
	Sand Drake
	Ginger Quill
	American Brown Dun
	Ginger Quill Spinner

Pictures Below ↓

In the East and Midwest this is one of the most important hatches of the Spring. They are large flies which emerge sporadically, making for long days of good fishing.

This species contains the two classic Eastern hatches formerly known as Stenonema vicarium and Stenonema fuscum, the "March Brown" and "Gray Fox." Entomologists have discovered that these mayflies belong to the same species, but they still display differences in appearance which the trout notice easily. Anglers should be prepared to imitate both types.

Where & When

Regions: East, Midwest

Time Of Year (?): Mid-May through early July

This hatch begins in Pennsylvania and the Catskills in the middle of May. It peaks there in late May and early June. Throughout the rest of June and early July the hatch moves into the Adirondacks, New England, and the Upper Midwest.

The best action lasts from 1-3 weeks in most places. The traditional March Brown duns originally in the vicarium species are more common toward the beginning of the hatch, while the former-fuscom Gray Fox variety take over in the latter weeks.

Hatching Behavior

Time Of Day (?): Late morning through evening, usually peaking mid-afternoon; only late evening on hot days

Habitat: Slow water

Water Temperature: 55°F

The nymphs are reported to scurry from their fast-water habitat into slow pools and marginal water before emergence.

March Browns take a long time (sometimes more than 30 seconds) to escape their shucks (

View Full Size

Here's an underwater view of the pupal shucks of several already-emerged Brachycentrus numerosus caddisflies.

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.) in the surface film, and then they ride the water for a long time and struggle through failed attempts to take flight. This hatch is exceptionally prone to producing cripples (Cripple: In fly fishing, a cripple is any insect which has been injured or deformed so that it cannot escape the water. This may include stillborn emergers or fully emerged adults which have been damaged, often by wind or waves, so that they can no longer fly. Trout often favor eating crippled insects.) and stillborns (

View Full Size

This stillborn Ephemerella subvaria dun is trapped in its shuck.

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.).

These characteristics leave room for many types of flies: floating nymphs, emergers, low-riding duns, hackled duns, and cripple (Cripple: In fly fishing, a cripple is any insect which has been injured or deformed so that it cannot escape the water. This may include stillborn emergers or fully emerged adults which have been damaged, often by wind or waves, so that they can no longer fly. Trout often favor eating crippled insects.) patterns all have their place.

Spinner Behavior

Time Of Day: Late evening through dusk

March Browns return to the stream as spinners a few days after emerging. Spinners from many days of hatching typically mate together on select nights, and this makes for inconsistent but exceptionally good spinner falls.

In Hatches II, Caucci and Nastasi write that the females oviposit by making repeated runs at the surface, dipping their abdomens briefly and rising up for another run. This contradicts the behaviors listed in Mayflies of Michigan Trout Streams, in which the Leonards say the females may drop their eggs from the air or release them as they 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.). Readers are invited to share their experiences in the comments and clarify the spinner behavior.

Nymph Biology

Current Speed: All speeds, but best in fast water

Substrate: Everything from boulders to weeds to leaf drift (Leaf drift: The mass of dead leaves gathered on the bottom of the stream, sometimes stacked thick in still places like back eddies. Many aquatic invertebrates use the leaf drift for shelter and food. Most insects shred the leaves to digest the bacteria and plankton living on them, rather than digesting the leaves themselves.) to silt

Environmental Tolerance: Very tolerant of high temperature and slow water

In Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout, Fred Arbona reports stomach samples indicating the importance of these nymphs.

Trout appear to be aware of this phenomenon, for their stomachs will often be crammed with as many as 100 to 200 immature nymphs a week before the hatches will begin for the season.

Maccaffertium vicarium Fly Fishing Tips

This hatch often occurs simulatenously with more concentrated species, and fish may be selective to those. Although March Browns provide good action throughout much of the day, you should not let them distract you from higher-density hatches of smaller flies like Ephemerella invaria which the fish might take selectively instead.

Pictures of 19 Mayfly Specimens in the Species Maccaffertium vicarium:

Specimen Page:12 3

Male Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Dun

View 10 PicturesI collected this mayfly on the same trip as a female of the same species. After these photos it molted into a spinner. This is the form of Maccaffertium vicarium which anglers call the "Gray Fox."

Collected May 28, 2005 from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 24, 2006

Female Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Spinner

View 7 PicturesI collected this mayfly on the same trip as a male of the same species. They are Maccaffertium vicarium mayflies of the type formerly known as Stenonema fuscom, the "Gray Fox."

Collected May 28, 2005 from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 24, 2006

Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Nymph

View 5 Pictures

Collected April 19, 2006 from the Beaverkill River in New York
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on April 21, 2006

Specimen Page:12 3

Recent Discussions of Maccaffertium vicarium

2 tails or 3 1 Reply »

Posted by Snagy on Feb 5, 2010

Last reply on Feb 6, 2010 by Taxon

I notice that while the dun, nymph, and spinner photos on the page are all listed as March Brown (maccaffertium vicarium). While the coloration patterns all seem to follow other March Browns I have seen, I notice that the winged flies pictures all have 2 tails, but the nymphs in the photos have 3. I was under the impression this species was a 2 tailed mayfly. Is the nymph mislabelled?

Reply diff between march brown &gray fox 7 Replies »

Posted by Jrcald on Mar 12, 2007

Last reply on Mar 13, 2007 by Troutnut

i know that gray foxs and march browns are classified in the same family but what are the differences ? what is the color differences are both bodies the same color tan ?

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Jargon Defined:

Abdomens: The rear and usually the longest (ten-segmented in mayflies) portion of an insect's body, to which the tails are attached.

Cripples: In fly fishing, a cripple is any insect which has been injured or deformed so that it cannot escape the water. This may include stillborn emergers or fully emerged adults which have been damaged, often by wind or waves, so that they can no longer fly. Trout often favor eating crippled insects.

Duns: Mayflies have two adult stages. They first emerge from the water as duns (scientifically known as the subimago stage). They then molt into the spinner (imago) stage, in which they mate and die. Sometimes the word "dun" is confusingly used to refer to a brownish gray color in fly tying materials.

Emergence: The transformation of a nymph or pupa into the adult winged stage of an insect. The term may refer to the emergence of an individual, or the daily or yearly event in which all individuals of a species emerge.

Leaf drift: The mass of dead leaves gathered on the bottom of the stream, sometimes stacked thick in still places like back eddies. Many aquatic invertebrates use the leaf drift for shelter and food. Most insects shred the leaves to digest the bacteria and plankton living on them, rather than digesting the leaves themselves.

Nymphs: The juvenile, underwater stages of mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies and other aquatic insects whose juvenile stages are covered by hard exoskeletons. The word can also refer to the fishing flies which imitate these creatures, in which case it is used as a blanket term for flies imitating any underwater stage of an invertebrate (except for crayfish and leeches).

Oviposit: To lay eggs.

View Full Size

Here's an underwater view of the pupal shucks of several already-emerged Brachycentrus numerosus caddisflies.

Shucks: 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.

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.

Spinner: There are two winged stages of adult mayflies. They emerge from the water as duns, molt on land (usually) into their fully mature stage, spinners. As spinners, they mate, lay eggs, and die.

View Full Size

This stillborn Ephemerella subvaria dun is trapped in its shuck.

Stillborns: 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.

Useful References:

Arbona, Fred Jr. 1989. Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout. Nick Lyons Books.

Caucci, Al and Nastasi, Bob. 2004. Hatches II. The Lyons Press.

Fauceglia, Ted. 2005. Mayflies . Stackpole Books.

Knopp, Malcolm and Robert Cormier. 1997. Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera . The Lyons Press.

Leonard, Justin W. and Fannie A. Leonard. 1962. Mayflies of Michigan Trout Streams. Cranbrook Institute of Science.

Schwiebert, Ernest G. 1955. Matching the Hatch. MacMillan Publishing Company.

Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.