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Photo#636913
Caddisfly IMG_5858 - Agrypnia

Caddisfly IMG_5858 - Agrypnia
Tenants Harbor, Knox County, Maine, USA
August 14, 2010
I checked BOLD and the closest thing I could find was Phryganea cinerea.

Moved
Moved from Phryganea.

rather Agrypnia
rather Agrypnia

Moved
Moved from Caddisflies.

Phryganea
There are vary few caddis that I would place a species name on from a habitus pic. This is one where I would not.

 
--
That's kind of what I figured but I'm curious as to how the images under P. sayi were ID'd.

 
I don't know
some folks know I am strongly opposed to images that are determined based on reported distribution. It is illogical to me. For example, how could anyone find a new species, or even a new state record, if it had to be "one of the species reported from there"? While diversity is definitely dropping, and local extinctions are occurring, in many parts of NA because of the results of population increases, I, and others, are continuing to find new caddis species and state records throughout NA. There are still many small places that have not been harmed., so far.

I know that the vast majority of caddis species cannot be determined to species based on a habitus pic. I have been looking at caddis for years and I cannot do it with confidence. Even folks with very large collections of pinned specimens for comparison cannot usually do it with confidence. Live material does not look like dead material.

I do know that Tom Murry sends material to Don Chandler and Don looks at their parts to see what it is.

And I know that there are some small groups, in some places in NA where folks say enough studies have been to fairly confidently say which species occur there and then determine them by habitus photos. Phryganea may be one of them. But these are small places, maybe a spring, or a couple square mile drainage, with many years of detailed studies, or very well known, usually large, taxa with obvious, distinctive coloration. I have never heard a trichopterist say they know every species by sight in a county. Some are distinctive, and this may be one of them. But I personally don't know if it is - sorry.

 
Thanks...
Thanks for taking time to reply. It does help me to understand better.

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