Can You Identify This Insect

[Mark Melton]

This is found in the Russian River, CA. It's about 3.5 - 4 mm long not including the antennae or tails. Usually found in clear shallow water. Give the family, genus, species and life stage.


Female


Male


Male

 

[Jim F.]

No clue but you still take great photos!

 

[Chadk]

callibaetis nymph

 

[Chadk]

 

[Tom Butler]

Wet fly, soft hackle, Gold ribbed hare's ear, or nymph. I love this game, but just like the snakes I really can't tell them apart.

 

[Mark Melton]

Chadk,
You got the family and life stage right. It is Baetidae and a nymph but not Callibaetis. The nymph in the above pictures is about 3.5 to 4 mm. A Callibaetis nymph will run about 5 to 8 mm. Also, a Callibaetis nymph will tend to hold it's gills facing forward and they are smaller in relation to the body. Here's a couple of pictures of a Callibaetis from the Russian River to compare with the nymph above.


Female


Males

 

[Taxon]

family: Baetidae
genus: Paracloeodes
species: minutus
lifestage: nymph

Yes, of course I cheated.

 

[Mark Melton]

I kind of expected you'd have to cheat to get this one, Roger. Little is known about this mayfly as an adult, and even less as a nymph. Anyway, congratulations on getting it. Care to explain how you got it?

 

[Taxon]

Care to explain how you got it?

By searching your Baetidae mayfly contributions to BugGuide.

 

[Mark Melton]

Roger,
I don't know if you're interested or not but here's a paper with Paracloeodes minutis (under P. abditus, a synonym).

http://www.ephemeroptera-galactica.com/pubs/pub_d/pubdayw1955p121.pdf

 

[Taxon]

Roger,
I don't know if you're interested or not ...

Thanks, Mark. I am interested in any scientific paper containing information that can be used to supplement my Mayflies of N. America database. And, that paper certainly does. Here is the information that I (now) have on Paracloeodes minutus:


Family name: Baetidae
Scientific name: Paracloeodes minutus

Previously know as: Paracloeodes abditus, Pseudocloeon minutum
Common name:
Locality:
CAN Regions: NE
MEX Regions: SW
USA Regions: NE,NW,SE,SW
Cent. Amer. Countries: BEL, COS, HON, NIC
CAN Provinces:
MEX States: *01:BS, QT.
USA States: *01:CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, IN, MN, MO, NC, NE, NY, TX, WI, WY.*03:OR*05:NC*10:CA, CO, IA, ID, IN, MO, NY, TX, WI*13:CA*34:NE*35:IA*36:ND*37:SD*38:SC
Habitat:
Voltinism:
Emergence (begin) date:
Emergence (end) date:
Emergence time of day:
Spinner fall time of day:

Nymph minimum length: 3.7
Nymph maximum length: 3.7
Nymph identification keys:
Nymph body description: tergite 1 light, 2 & 3 dark, 4 & 5 light, 6 dark, 7 & 8 light, 9 & anterior half of 10 dark, posterior half of 10 light, posterior margin of all tergites finely black
Nymph legs:
Nymph gills: hyaline white, each with a single dark central trachea, tracheal branches not darkened
Nymph tusks:
Nymph tails: 3, about equal length, light grayish with fine white hairs on both sides of middle tail and on inner sides of lateral tails

Dun minimum length:
Dun maximum length:
Dun identification keys:
Dun body description:
Dun wings:
Dun legs:
Dun tails:

Spinner minimum length:
Spinner maximum length:
Spinner identification keys: entire upper surface of head yellowish white, ocelli narrowly ringed at bases with smoky gray and stalks of male eyes also ringed; facets of upper compound eyes of male light golden yellow, lower eyes black
Spinner body description: pronotum pale smoky, anterior margin finely black; meso and metanotum yellowish white, faintly outlined in smoky gray; abdomen yellowish white, tergites 1-5 with lateral areas light smoky, pleural fold intermittently marked with fine gray geminate lines
Spinner wings: hyaline, colorless, veins white
Spinner legs:
Spinner tails: transparent white