Need help identifying a mayfly

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)

Warren wrote:

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/

That's a very nice picture of a March Brown.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Warren" wrote

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.

excellent image of an epeorus albertae spinner, or "western quill
gordon".

yeitons
wayno

"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

"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...
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


Yeah, sure. Many mayflies live less than 24 hours after emerging as adults.
They mate first if they're lucky.

Stan Gula wrote:

.... Many mayflies live less than 24 hours after emerging as adults.
They mate first if they're lucky.

So even if they're not lucky, they're lucky.

JR
(remembering junior year lasting a LOT longer than 24 hrs.)

"Stan Gula" wrote in message
...
"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...
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

.
They mate first if they're lucky.


well, yea, you know - priorities and all.... ;-)
(smart little flies)

snake

"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/

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


Hey, Warren: Compare your pic to these:
http://www.fishing-in-wales.com/_pic...s/marchbrn.jpg
http://www.worleybuggerflyco.com/ima...ch%20Brown.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/3ykaj

I googled "March Brown" under google images. Are these the same animal?

This last pic;
http://www.goulburnvlyflyfishing.com...wn/report5.jpg
might not be the same fly as yours, or as the others. Its labeled as a March
Brown, but it has three tails, a much smaller head, the leading edge of the
wings is much larger, and the markings are not exactly the same.

Even more interesting, I think, is the wide range of FLIES that are called
'March Brown'.

--riverman

"JR" wrote in message ...
Stan Gula wrote:

.... Many mayflies live less than 24 hours after emerging as adults.
They mate first if they're lucky.

So even if they're not lucky, they're lucky.


Well, it's a matter or perspective really.......even if they get lucky,
they're not very lucky.

JR
(remembering junior year lasting a LOT longer than 24 hrs.)

I believe it was actually about 24 years.

Wolfgang
who still, occasionally, bumps into people who think that high school was
the best years of their lives.........and can't think of a better
justification for eating a bullet.

wrote...
Hey, Warren: Compare your pic to these:
#1 http://www.fishing-in-wales.com/_pic...s/marchbrn.jpg

The above is a very strong candidate while the two below don't look
as likely. *BUT* my vision is going and I really do need to get my
eyes checked. :-( Discounting color differences (unreliable
criteria anyway), I would say that the above is the closest pic I
have seen other than a pic in one of my books.

#2 http://www.worleybuggerflyco.com/ima...ch%20Brown.jpg
#3 http://tinyurl.com/3ykaj

I googled "March Brown" under google images. Are these the same animal?

They don't look the same to me, but do look like more like what I am
used to seeing called March Browns.

This last pic;
#4 http://www.goulburnvlyflyfishing.com...wn/report5.jpg
might not be the same fly as yours, or as the others. Its labeled as a March
Brown, but it has three tails, a much smaller head, the leading edge of the
wings is much larger, and the markings are not exactly the same.

Looks closer to the one I saw than #2 and #3, but not as close as #
1. I plan on checking out some books at the library tomorrow since
my bug ID arsenal is extremely lacking right now. If worse comes to
worse, I am going to email the pic I took to a local entomologist
and see if he can't ID the bug. ;-)

Even more interesting, I think, is the wide range of FLIES that are called
'March Brown'.

That was something I kept getting sidetracked with. I kept checking
out different patterns. g

Thanks for taking the time doing the search. I did the same search
and got to page 10 before giving up because my dial-up connection is
pretty damn slow. It's what I get for living in a rural area I
guess.....
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on either yahoo or earthlink to respond via email)