Updates from April 19, 2006
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
I love this "above & below" landscape from a popular Catskill trout stream. The picture is not doctored to show both perspectives. Instead, my Pentax Optio WPi digital camera is able to take pictures with the tiny lens half-in, half-out of the water.
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
This is a close-up underwater view of a
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.) Ephemerella subvaria (Henrickson) female dun.
In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemerella subvaria (Hendrickson).Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
This
Brachycentrus "Apple Caddis" struggled more than its kin in escaping its pupal skin, enabling me to take an underwater picture of it from directly below. This is sort of a trout's eye view, but I used the flash for the picture so the transparent
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.) appears far brighter than it really is.
In this picture: Caddisfly Species Brachycentrus appalachia (Apple Caddis).Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Here's an above-the-water view of a
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.) Ephemerella subvaria dun which I also photographed from below the water.
Date AddedApr 22, 2006
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi
Male Epeorus pleuralis (Quill Gordon) Mayfly Spinner
View 10 PicturesI 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.) most of the day looking for Epeorus pluralis duns or spinners without any luck on the major Catskill rivers. Finally in the evening I arrived at a small stream somebody had recommended, and when I got out of the car I was happy to find that I had parked in the middle of a cloud of male spinners. Isonychia bicolor (Mahogany Dun) Mayfly Nymph
View 7 PicturesThis Isonychia bicolor nymph from the Catskills displays the prominent white stripe sometimes characteristic of its species. This is the first such specimen I've photographed, because members of the same species in the Upper Midwest have a more subdued stripe (and were once thought to be a different species, Isonychia sadleri). The striking coloration on this eastern nymph is more appealing. Hexatoma True Fly Larva
View 6 PicturesI'm not sure if this cranefly larva is in the genus Hexatoma or Limnophila, but the habitat suggests Hexatoma. Its coloring is iridescent, and I've never heard of that before. However, there is an insect virus genus Iridovirus which can infect craneflies and causes iridescence. It has not been reported in this region as far as I can tell, but perhaps it is the culprit. It makes for beautiful pictures. Ephemerella aurivillii Mayfly Nymph
View 6 PicturesThis specimen was collected together with a lighter one of the same species.
It resembles another specimen from about 1300 miles away in Wisconsin, which I tentatively called Ephemerella needhami. This one has much less prominent abdominal tubercles (
A few (not all) of the abdominal tubercles on this
Ephemerella needhami nymph are circled. They are especially large in this species.
Tubercle: Various peculiar little bumps or projections on an insect. Their character is important for the identification of many kinds of insects, such as the nymphs of Ephemerellidae mayflies.). It may be that they're both the same species and I don't have my identifications straight. Tallaperla (Roachflies) Stonefly Nymph
View 6 PicturesThis is the first specimen of the Peltoperlidae stonefly family that I've collected. It's very small and probably an early instar (Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.), but I'm not choosy about new bugs. Epeorus pleuralis (Quill Gordon) Mayfly Nymph
View 4 PicturesThis Epeorus pluralis dun is recently deceased in these photos. I decided not to photograph several lively, less mature nymphs. This one was ready to hatch, as indicated by the black wing pads (
The wing pads on this final instar
Baetidae mayfly nymph are extremely dark.
Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.). I believe it had not been dead long enough to lose its natural coloration. Maccaffertium vicarium (March Brown) Mayfly Nymph
View 4 PicturesI photographed this Maccaffertium vicarium nymph shortly after it molted to a new instar (Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.) in my holding container. Many nymphs take on drastically different coloration immediately after molting, and this species is no exception. Cinygmula subaequalis (Small Gordon Quill) Mayfly Nymph
View 3 PicturesI had heard reports of a bright red heptageniid nymph before but never seen one until I found this early instar (Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.) specimen in a very high water quality small stream in the Catskills.
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