Bug ID

[Brownie101]

Saw some of these guys on my favorite northern Potter County small streams this weekend. My first thought was that there were Green Drakes, but the fact that they have I white body kind of threw me off. If I remember correctly they had 3 tails. Any help would be appreciated.




Edit: sorry for the small picture, it's as large as I can make it.

 

[pcray1231]

It'd help if you didn't blur it out.

I can't verify anything from that pic, but it looks like a green drake to me. Doesn't even look like a spinner. But GD spinners do have white bodies, hence the nickname "coffin fly" for GD spinners.

 

[Brownie101]

Thanks Pcray, sorry about the picture again. What also threw me off was I thought GD's were only in the Pine Creek system in NC PA. This creek isn't in that system. I also found this fly on the water, he was still moving slightly.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, I can verify that they are DEFINITELY in the Allegheny drainage as well. Not sure about the New York drainages but I would expect the answer is yes.

Perhaps it is a spinner. By the white body and your description of how you found it, it fits. Wing just looked dun-ish, but the pic is poor.

 

[troutbert]

Brownie101 wrote:
I thought GD's were only in the Pine Creek system in NC PA.

GDs are very widely distributed in the forested freestone streams of NC PA.

And not just NC PA. They are found in fertile forested freestoners in other parts of the state also.

The forested freestone streams with at least moderate fertility seem to have them, while the streams that are pretty infertile and acidic seem not to have them.

 

[Brownie101]

Is this slightly better?

 

[TYoung]

That is definitely a green drake dun.

 

[Chaz]

It is the coffin fly, the spinner of a GD. They are not limited to Pine Creek Drainage, they are all over NC PA, and some streams in the Poconos. I've also seen them on some SW PA streams.

 

[sandfly]

green drakes just don't come off in may/june. they hatch south to north moving from the southern states through the northern states. seems a liitle late for them there since they are in northern Ny now. You can follow just about any mayfly hatch from south to north and some would take a month or more from start to finish. If you are fishing high enough (altitude) they could still be hatching there. most people fish for them for a week then give up. chasing hatches (favorite) used to be the thing to do. start in southern pa and end up in new England. hendricksons, MB's, grakes were all the rave for awhile. Have a friend in Maine says the drakes are just starting now up there..