"Warren" wrote in message
. ..
Yesterday on the Lower Madison I came across this mayfly on my vest.
I loaned my hatch identification book out and am having some trouble
identifying this insect.

http://home.earthlink.net/~troutbum_mt/namethatbug/

A couple of books seem to disagree on which insect this is. In
"Spinners" by Sylvester Nemes, this looks exactly like Leptophlebia
cupida (what he says is a Hendrickson on page 99). There is a
picture on the top of page two in the pictures section located
between pages 118 and 119. However, on page 35 of "A.K.'s Fly Box"
a Hendrickson is show as having three tails. The Quill Gordon on
the same page looks very similar to the bug that I took the pic of.
Basically the two books seem to be at odds and the source that I
would trust in this dispute is currently on loan to a friend who
just happens to be out of town.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on either yahoo or earthlink to respond via email)

you post the greatest pictures, warren. seeing this one, i am reminded of
early mornings, while living in port huron mi., that i would head to the
beach, and have to gingerly step in between the mayflies that covered the
beach and parking lot like a blanket. any ya'll know the story behind this
behavior. many of them were dead, or appeared to be dying.

snakefiddler