Mayfly ID

[Quill gordon]

Hi John, Roger here. Don't see anything particularly unusual about the color of your mayfly. I looks like a stereotypical Callibaetis ferrugineus ferrugineus female imago, at least to me.

OK..... thank you for the reply!
I was looking for a 'more transparent wing'. Perhaps that gray background was confusing me!

[Taxon]

OK..... thank you for the reply!
I was looking for a 'more transparent wing'. Perhaps that gray background was confusing me!

Sure, John, that makes sense. Incidentally, I missed that the photo was taken near Spokane, WA. So rather than being subspecies Callibaetis ferrugineus ferrugineus, which you have in eastern N. America, it would be subspecies Callibaetis ferrugineus hageni, which we have in western N. America.

Regards,

[Rex S]

Thanks for all the information. In the interest of accuracy, I just checked the actual distance to water. The nearest lake is 6 miles and a small stream 1.7 miles ( and 400 ft lower elevation) as the crow flies. I've lived here 25 years and this is the first mayfly I've ever noticed on the property. Now grasshoppers, ants, and spiders...got a lot of those
Rex

[Preston Singletary]

Subimago (dun) and imago (spinner) are two entirely different stages in the life of the mayfly. In the case of the Callibaetis, after emerging from the nymphal shuck, the subimagos fly ashore and undergo a complete molt, shedding the dun exoskeleton with its dull (dun) coloration for the hyaline wings and glossier skin of the sexually mature imago. The mating flight follows, after which both the males and females fly ashore, the males to die and the females to allow their fertilized eggs to ripen before returning to the water to lay them. Having two, different, winged life stages is typical among the mayflies