December caddis hatch in AK???

[alaskanfishguides]

Unbelievable! It is so warm here that the caddis are hatching again... In more than 30 years of living on the Kenai Peninsula, this is the first time I can remember this happening. If only the water wasn't so hard. Nevertheless, I'm still dreamin' of a white Christmas... We should have a couple of feet of snow on the ground and temps around 15-20. I am starting to think that hairspray is a bad thing.

[Taxon]

In general, caddisflies are univoltine, which means they have one generation per year. Some of the larger caddisflies are semivoltine, which means they only have a generation every two years.

However, there are some species of Glossosoma and Ceraclea, which are bivoltine. This means they have two generations per year. Glossosoma (Little Tan Short-horn Sedge) is a genus within Glossosomiidae (Saddle Case Maker). Ceraclea (Scaly Wing Sedge) is a genus within family Leptocertidae (Longhorned Case Maker).

Do you know what these winter-hatching caddisflies were, either by family or genus or common name? If not, can you describe them by hook size and color?

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Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:b87ca]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:b87ca]

[alaskanfishguides]

Taxon,

Thanks for the questions. I will apologize in advance at my lack of scientific aptitude. I found an image online that is a close respresentation. The flies were between 2 and 3 cm in length (hook size 4 or 6?), much lighter in color than the image. When flying, the wings were more of a fluttering motion, the rear set of wings were broad and the front set narrow. These flies were observed in the dark with the headlights of the car, one was on the windshield.

Could this be a Northern Caddis?

O.K. I got the image correct. Also, the arachnids are also appearing as well as the common houseflies (again apologies). The trees are not budding yet, so I suspect we may get another winter before spring?

[This message has been edited by alaskanfishguides (edited 17 December 2005).]

[This message has been edited by alaskanfishguides (edited 17 December 2005).]

[1wt]

I once had a wife who was ovaltine:

All she could cook was hot chocolate.

Sorry....

I just couldn't resist

[Taxon]

Could this be a Northern Caddis?

Ed-

The image you found is of a Limniphilus (Summer Flyer Sedge), a member of family Limniphilidae (Northern Case Makers). There are many genera of this family, but the one you would be most likely to encounter on the Kenei Peninsula of Alaska this time of year is Psychoglypha alaskenis (Snow Sedge). They reach 24 mm. in length, so fit well within your estimate of 2-3 cm.


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Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:fc6a0]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:fc6a0]

[Taxon]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana">quote:</font><HR>I once had a wife who was ovaltine:
All she could cook was hot chocolate.

Sorry....

I just couldn't resist<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>1wt-

No reason to be sorry. I appreciate your humor. Actually, my mother made me drink that stuff during the 40's. As I remember, it had a grainy texture, and I hated it.


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Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:c5b00]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:c5b00]



[This message has been edited by Taxon (edited 17 December 2005).]

[Taxon]

tyflier-

Goodness, I'm overwhelmed. What a nice thing to say. And a very Merry Christmas to you and yours.

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Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:53962]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:53962]

[alaskanfishguides]

Taxon,

Tyflier is right on... I've seen your work on other boards as well. Thanks for the answer. Here is an image of the Snow Sedge

I don't remember the caddis being that dark in color, however it was dark outside so I didn't have a true representation of the color.

Thanks again.

[Taxon]

Ed-

You are certainly welcome. Yes, that would be the one. Incidentally, that's a terrific photo of the Snow Sedge. Wasn?t able to find one, or I?d have posted it.

Color can vary significantly between sexes, between geographic locations, and even in the exact same location. Of course, color can be a useful factor for insect identification, but it isn?t always reliable.


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Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:933a3]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:933a3]

[alaskanfishguides]

Taxon,

So, we identified the little bugger, now what in the world is he doing awake this time of year? As a Limnephilidae is he univoltine or bivoltine? Do these overwinter in a larval or pupal stage and that in water or out?