Bug ID help . . .

Discussion in 'Fly Fishing Entomology' started by Grant Richie, Nov 12, 2011.

  1. Grant Richie Member

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    Grant Richie, Nov 12, 2011
    #1

  2. Mike Lee It's all about the sauce.....

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    I would guess caddis larvae.
    Mike Lee, Nov 12, 2011
    #2

  3. Big E Moderator

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    Some sort of fly larva...best guess would be water snipe.
    Big E, Nov 12, 2011
    #3

  4. Taxon Moderator

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    Exactly so, good job Big E. Here is an the illustration of an Atherix pachypus larva of family Athericidae from the book, Aquatic Entomology, which was written by W. Patrick McCafferty, and illustrated by Arwin W. Provonsha:

    [IMG]

    And, here is a photo by Tom Murray of what one looks look like as an adult:

    [IMG]
    Taxon, Nov 13, 2011
    #4

  5. triploidjunkie Active Member

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    Water snipe! Awesome!!
    triploidjunkie, Nov 13, 2011
    #5

  6. jeff bandy Make my day

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    Water Snipe. Ahh, your not going to fool me with that one.

    Again.
    jeff bandy, Nov 13, 2011
    #6

  7. Big E Moderator

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    BTW, I had a look through some of your other pics....pretty awesome! You should post pics of them more often. One of your pics you commented that you didn't know the orientation...they have two "horns" on their posterior and a pointed anterior.
    Big E, Nov 13, 2011
    #7

  8. Grant Richie Member

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    Thanks for the help. I am surprised there is not more information about these critters out there. I frankly had never heard of them. But they are abundant and pretty meaty looking for fish food. Since they are part of Diptera I assume they go through complete metamorphosis, I am curious what kind of emergence strategy they have, crawling out or floating up, etc.
    Grant Richie, Nov 13, 2011
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  9. Grant Richie Member

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    According to this website the larvae pupate on land. So I guess I can't start telling people I am fishing the water snipe hatch :rofl: There is a good chance some would get swept up in the current during migration to the shore. Now if I can just find out when that happens I can tell people I am going to fish the water snipe migration . . .
    Grant Richie, Nov 13, 2011
    #9

  10. Taxon Moderator

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    Yes, here is a more complete description of the watersnipe fly life cycle. The adult females deposit their fertilized eggs in a communal egg mass on tree branch overhanging stream. When the eggs hatch, the larvae drop into the water, where they live and grow for (~11) months. When the mature larvae (pre-pupae) depart their aquatic environment, they do so by crawling from the stream's edge, and pupating in the soil along the stream bank. After a few weeks of pupation, the mature pupae emerge in early summer as winged adults.
    Taxon, Nov 13, 2011
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  11. powpow Member

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    The first pictue has stonefly to the right i think?
    Taxon seems like he knows whats up
    powpow, Nov 13, 2011
    #11

  12. Grant Richie Member

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    [IMG]
    Nope, that is a mayfly nymph to the right in the first picture. Here is a picture of a stonefly.
    Grant Richie, Nov 14, 2011
    #12

  13. Craig Pablo Active Member

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    I concur, in the first photo that is a mayfly nymph and by the looks of it a crawler mayfly, as opposed to a clinger, burrower or a swimmer mayfly nymph.
    Craig Pablo, Nov 14, 2011
    #13

  14. Taxon Moderator

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    Right, you are, Flyfishdude. It's the Ephemerellid, Drunella grandis, which has a common name of Western Green Drake.
    Taxon, Nov 14, 2011
    #14