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Post by mantog on May 13, 2006 5:54:24 GMT -5
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Post by flytire on May 13, 2006 6:00:07 GMT -5
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Post by Sewinbasher on May 13, 2006 6:52:42 GMT -5
That's a bit like saying that an executive jet looks like a Boeing 747. Unless you have Ephemera danica or a closely related species in the USA then none of your mayflies look much like our mayfly other than overall shape. The point is that in the USA all upwinged flies are called mayflies where in the UK it applies only to three closely related species that do all look very alike, and generally hatch in May or early June hence the name. I would suspect that our cousins over the pond adopted the name for all upwinged flies not having the exact species there because we definitely had it first. All the ephemeroptera (latin name for the class of upwinged flies) have broadly the same life cycle and the same shape as an adult and are only the "same" in that sense because there are huge differences in size, colour and time of hatching. About 90% of the mayfly in the UK are Ephemera danica which is the fly in Mantog's picture below. It can have a wingspan of almost 2" which makes it a real meal for the trout and the highlight of the season for many. The other two species are E. vulgata and E. lineata which are very similar but with slightly darker colouring. i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/thebobwalker/mayfly2.jpg |
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Post by fishgb on May 14, 2006 4:06:29 GMT -5
Here are some photographs I took last year:   This last one is on the wing of my car:  Unfortunately I have just arrived at work and will be here for another three weeks - so I shall miss the party this year  You boys play nicely and I shall mop up whatever is left in June.  gb |
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Post by fishgb on May 14, 2006 4:31:52 GMT -5
About 90% of the mayfly in the UK are Ephemera danica which is the fly in Mantog's picture below. It can have a wingspan of almost 2" which makes it a real meal for the trout and the highlight of the season for many. The other two species are E. vulgata and E. lineata which are very similar but with slightly darker colouring. i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/thebobwalker/mayfly2.jpgActually I don't think Mantoog's picture shows a Danica - I have cropped the one of the pictures I took and one can see it is very different in colour to the one from Yorkshire.  Is there an aquatic entomologist in the house? gb |
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Post by Sewinbasher on May 14, 2006 6:22:08 GMT -5
About 90% of the mayfly in the UK are Ephemera danica which is the fly in Mantog's picture below. It can have a wingspan of almost 2" which makes it a real meal for the trout and the highlight of the season for many. The other two species are E. vulgata and E. lineata which are very similar but with slightly darker colouring. i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/thebobwalker/mayfly2.jpgActually I don't think Mantog's picture shows a Danica - I have cropped the one of the pictures I took and one can see it is very different in colour to the one from Yorkshire. Is there an aquatic entomologist in the house? gb It's a fair point, Mantog's fly is quite dark (possibly suggesting vulgata) but his photo is of a dun (sub-imago) whereas yours is of the next stage which is the imago or spent so not really the basis for a comparison. Your other pictures show the imagos in their mating dance - what we really need for comparison is a photo of a recently hatched fly. I used John Goddard as my reference and he says that the only difference between danica and vulgata is that vulgata is slightly darker and the main difference is in the markings on the underside of the body and in his book Trout Fly Recognition he has made a sketch of the differences. I can see the underside markings on your picture but not on Mantog's so it is difficult to draw a conclusion on that other than yours does look like a danica according to Goddard. However Goddard also says that vulgata is only found in southern England and parts of the Midlands so if Mantog's fly was a Yorkshire fly is it almost certainly not vulgata but also danica. |
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Post by richardw on May 14, 2006 19:19:15 GMT -5
About 90% of the mayfly in the UK are Ephemera danica which is the fly in Mantog's picture below. It can have a wingspan of almost 2" which makes it a real meal for the trout and the highlight of the season for many. The other two species are E. vulgata and E. lineata which are very similar but with slightly darker colouring. i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/thebobwalker/mayfly2.jpgActually I don't think Mantoog's picture shows a Danica - I have cropped the one of the pictures I took and one can see it is very different in colour to the one from Yorkshire. Is there an aquatic entomologist in the house? gb That's a male danica spinner (imago) and beautiful they may be especially when dancing like the non-close ups show, but there is no point in tying artificials of them. They don't return to the water. Females do and it is they you need to put your effort into. richard |
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Taxon
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by Taxon on May 14, 2006 20:32:14 GMT -5
Sewinbasher-
Actually, some executive jets do look like a Boeing 747, but of course, the vast majority look much smaller.
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Post by fishgb on May 14, 2006 23:57:26 GMT -5
It's a fair point, Mantog's fly is quite dark (possibly suggesting vulgata) but his photo is of a dun (sub-imago) whereas yours is of the next stage which is the imago or spent so not really the basis for a comparison. Your other pictures show the imagos in their mating dance - what we really need for comparison is a photo of a recently hatched fly. Yes, all very true - however I couldn't possibly get a photograph of a newly hatched dun as I was having too much fun catching fish on an imitation of it ;D - but the hatching fly are/were markedly white in appearance too. gb |
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