Stillwater mayfly ID

[dbk]

Was fishing Rock Lake in Eastern Washington yesterday and noticed this solitary mayfly dun on the surface.. didnt expect to see anything other than midges.. any thoughts on what this is? Didn't think callibaetis were hatching this time of year...

 

[Taxon]

Hi dbk-

It would not be a Callibaetis, as they would have only 2 tails in their winged lifestages. If I were to take a wild guess, it would be Neoleptophlebia memorialis. Someone else may recognize it (or not), as the focus/resolution of the images leaves a bit to be desired.

 

[dbk]

Thanks Taxon..not familiar with this insect.. does it have a common name?

 

[Mark Melton]

It would be either the Mahogany Dun or the Blue Quill.

 

[Taxon]

Thanks Taxon..not familiar with this insect.. does it have a common name?

Some fly fishers simply refer to them by an abbreviation of the genus Paraleptophlebia, that being Paralep, not unlike some referring to genus Hexagenia as Hex.

However, a few years ago, seven of the former Paraleptophlebia species were reclassified as into genus Neoleptophlebia, and Neoleptophlebia memorialis was among those that were reclassified.

I fear this is probably more info than you wanted to know, but then, you did ask.

 

[dbk]

Some fly fishers simply refer to them by an abbreviation of the genus Paraleptophlebia, that being Paralep, not unlike some referring to genus Hexagenia as Hex.

However, a few years ago, seven of the former Paraleptophlebia species were reclassified as into genus Neoleptophlebia, and Neoleptophlebia memorialis was among those that were reclassified.

I fear this is probably more info than you wanted to know, but then, you did ask.

Thanks Taxon.. appreciate that information. And I did ask its a bug I've never seen in any of the stillwaters I regularly fish in Eastern Washington.. and have never seen any mayfly species hatch 8n December when there's open water I suspect it was an anomaly this bug was hatching when it did .