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Photo#763940
Mystery Mayfly - Baetis

Mystery Mayfly - Baetis
Big Horn River Montana, Montana, USA
April 26, 2013
Size: 9.5mm
I'm guessing at the length. I didn't measure it. But it was visibly larger than several Baetis nymphs also netted this morning (4/26/2013). This photo doesn't show it well. But this nymph does have fine fan-like gills on the sides of each abdomen segment. Perhaps I should try photographing over a light blue background. This image was made with a microscope, which has no depth of field. I might try remaking the photo with a bellows between camera and macro lens, so I could use F-22 instead of F-0. In order to get a bit more depth of field.

This is an edit to my original comment. I think this must be a micro stonefly. It is perhaps 1/4 again longer than the body length of a Baetis mayfly. Which is still very small. But it does have the two cercae (tails) and the prominent wing cases of a stonefly. Long abdomen too.

Moved
Moved from Mayflies.

Definitely a mayfly
Hi Sandy-

If one zooms in on your photo, it reveals plate-like lateral gills with visible veinlets on abdominal segments 1-7, what I believe to be highly reduced rear wingpads, and also a (barely visible) middle tail (terminal filament), which is significantly shorter than the outer cerci. Given this combination of characters, it has to be a mayfly, and I believe it to be of family Baetidae, perhaps Baetis tricaudatus.

Had been hoping Brady Richards would to weigh in on the ID, so I will alert him to its presence.

 
Brady Richards Comment
Roger,

... I just saw the reposting of the photos and I agree with your assessment -- B. tricaudatus for the immature specimen, but leave the more mature specimen (this one) at Baetis because the characters can't be seen. I'd be willing to bet that it's B. tricaudatus as well. ...

Brady

Austin Brady Richards
Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory—Chico

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

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