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WA Mayfly Description


Taxonomic Name
(Common Name)
Larva (Nymph)Subimago (Dun)
Imago (Spinner)
Ephemerellidae
(Spiny Crawler Mayfly )
Diverse shapes and sizes, but usually robust, sometimes flattened, often with tubercles or spines; always with 3 tails; wholly dorsal gills (never on Ab2) which slightly overlap and undute sequentially. 3 tails; pronounced angle on fore margin of hind wings; short unattached intercalary veins on outer margin of FW.


Taxonomic Name
(Common Name)
Larva (Nymph)Subimago (Dun)
Imago (Spinner)
DrunellaFore femora broad with teeth on anterior margins, if not, head and thorax with paired dorsal tubercles.Terminal segment of claspers 2x as long as broad.
Drunella coloradensis
(Colorado Mayfly; Dark Olive Dun; Lesser Green Drake; Light Slate-winged Olive; Autumn Green Drake; Slate-winged Olive; Small Western Green Drake; Western Green Drake; Dark Brown Spinner. )
larva (nymph)

Copyright © 2011 Bob Newell
 
 
 Abdomen dark olive to brownish black; thorax a shade lighter; no head projections; pointed abdominal tubercles, tiny compared to grandis or spinifera; femurs with bumps; gills all similar in size; dark tail band mid-length. Body dark olive brown; wings dark gray; 3 tails; length 12-13 mm.; emerges Jul 20 - Aug 10.
Drunella doddsii
(Dark Blue-winged Red Quill; Ginger Quill; Green Drake; Western Green Drake. )
mature larva (nymph)

Copyright © 2011 Jason Neuswanger
 
subimago (dun) - male

Copyright © 2011 Jason Neuswanger

 
 Body flattened; abdomen yellowish brown, w/o tibercles; thorax often lighter; head w/incomplete frontal shelf; ring of fine hairs encircling underside of abdomen; gills of similar size starting on seg. 3 . Body: reddish to dark olive brown Wings: medium gray Length: 13 mm. Tails: 3 Emergence: Jul 10-30.
Drunella flavilinea
(Flav; Lesser Green Drake; Slate-winged Olive; Slate-winged Olive Dun; Blue-winged Olive Dun; Dark Olive Spinner; Western Slate Olive Dun; Western Green Drake; Small Western Green Drake; Dark Rusty Spinner; Dark Olive Spinner. )
 
subimago (dun) - male

Copyright © 2006 Arlen Thomason

imago (spinner) - male

Copyright © 2006 Arlen Thomason

 
 Abdomen dark olive to brownish black; thorax a shade lighter; no head projections; pointed abdominal tubercles, tiny compared to grandis or spinifera; femurs with bumps; gills are all similar in size; dark tail band mid-length. Body dark olive; wings medium gray; length 7-10 mm.; 3 tails; emerges Jul 20 - Aug 10.
Drunella grandis flavitincta
(Western Green Drake. )
nymph

Copyright © 2009 Roger Rohrbeck
 
 
Drunella grandis ingens
(Western Green Drake)
larva (nymph)

Copyright © 2007 Bob Newell
 
subimago (dun) - male

Copyright © 2010 Bob Newell

imago (spinner) - female

Copyright © 2010 Bob Newell
Drunella pelosa
nymph

Copyright © 2011 Bob Newell
 
 
 Zebra-like black and white color pattern; pad of fine hairs on underside of abdominal segments 3-8; fringes of long, fine hairs on legs, tails, and body. .
Drunella spinifera
(Small Western Green Drake. )
nymph

Copyright © 2011 Joseph Fortier
 
subimago (dun) - female

Copyright © 2007 Bob Newell

 
 Femora of front legs very broad, but don't have bumps on front edge; long sharp tubercles on back of head; abdominal tubercles 8-9 more than twice as long as 2-7. Body dark reddish brown; wings reddish brown; 3 tails; emerges Aug - Sep, late afternoon - early evening.

State of Washington distribution is based on:
Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) of the far western United States (Part I: Washington) by M. D. Meyer & W. P. McCafferty,
and augmented by A DNA Barcode Library for North American Ephemeroptera: etc. by Webb, Jacobus, Funk, et. al.  

Created: 08/16/2013   Last modified: 12/07/2014    www.FlyfishingEntomology.com