This striking golden stonefly is the first of its species I've had the chance to photograph ..read more

This specimen was the only one of its kind in my kick net sample from this small creek. At first I thought it was Nemouridae, but it's not. Unfortunately, there is no species key available for Taenionema nymphs. Potential species found in Washington include nigripenne, oregonense, pacificum, and pallidum ..read more

I collected this one along with a male that was quite a bit smaller but equally ready to emerge in mid April. I spent quite a while on the identifications, because they really don't look very much like the Baetis bicaudatus nymph I caught last year in Idaho. However, the presence of hind wing pads rules out Acentrella turbida, the lack of a fringe of long setae on the tibiae rules out Acentrella insignificans, range rules out Heterocloeon and Iswaeon, and the thumb-like projection on the labial palp points to Baetis. Thus, Baetis bicaudatus is a fairly confident ID, and it's not too surprising ..read more

This specimen was collected along with a female which was quite a bit larger, different in color, but otherwise seemed the same morphologically ..read more

This salmonfly nymph is probably not quite fully grown, as it still has a couple months yet to emerge ..read more

This specimen keys to Isoperla fusca using the key in Szczytko & Stewart 1979, but some species of Isoperla weren't represented there ..read more

Added pictures of this new specimen ..read more

I keyed this one out using the Alberta species key from Zloty & Pritchard 1997. Notes from the ID include: 1. Posterior margin of sternites 6-8 without spines 2. Mesal gill extension "well developed" 3. Basil third of caudal filaments pale 4. Anterior surface of front femora mostly pale 5. Dark band on caudal filaments begins around segment 20 6. Final instars early season This one keys out pretty cleanly to Ameletus vernalis except the color pattern on the tergites doesn't match. However, two species known in Washington aren't included in the key. Of those two, Ameletus vancouverensis wou ..read more

Added pictures of this new specimen ..read more

This specimen is interesting because Heptagenia pulla has not been reported from Washington or neighboring states (Saskatchewan is the closest), yet the distinctive key characteristics are clear. It keys to the genus Heptagenia because the tarsal claw has a single basal tooth, and the gills on segment 7 have fibrils. For the species key: 1. The left mandible is planate (fairly straight-edged) whereas the right mandible is angulate (has one sharp turn on the edge). 2. The labrum is much wider than long. 3. There's a thin light-colored streak lateral to the eye on the head ..read more