Larry L wrote:



I certainly don't sit around talking Latin much, and most certainly don't
use Latin to "be impressive". "PMD," for instance, is pretty universally
used to mean two species that look alike and vary only in size. I'd prefer
to say "size 18 PMD" than one of the Latin names, since my words will likely
convey my meaning simply and without resorting to silly over complication.
But, IMO, the second paragraph above is a classic example of why we "should"
use Latin, at times.

If you, or anyone else, says "blue winged olive" I'm given very little real
information. Say I want to come fish with you and you tell me to tie up
some "olives" .... without several other paragraphs to define "olive" in the
current usage I don't know what size or color, do I? But, tell me Baetis
tricaudatis is hatching and I'm much better informed .... or can be with
some research.


I disagree. I think that Latin just needlessly complicates things and
MANY of our aquatic insect species aren't even identified and named.

I brought in a sample of a huge Mayfly that comes off at sunset in the
middle of Summer to a professor of entomology at our university. He was
unable to identify it and wasn't aware of any local species that large.
(I need to check back with him and see if he ever did identify it.

Getting back to Olives - if you wanted to know the correct size and
color etc, you would have to know a number of species and subspecies (if
they are all even recognized). I'm also guessing there is size and color
difference in different strains of the same species. WAY too complicated
for me.

My suggestion would be for example: a size 20 gray winged gray bodied
Mayfly.

Willi