I live outside Spokane, Washington in pine forest. There isn’t a stream or lake within 7 or 8 miles. Yet this little fella was sitting on my fence post today. He looks like a Callibaetis to me. I know there are a lot of different species, but I thought they were mostly lake residents. I wonder how he got here?
What do you people think?
RexS
can’t help you with the identification, but reminds me of a morning a couple of years ago when I found a Hexagenia dun on my front porch…in NE Portland.
Rex,
I sent the photo to Brooks Sanford of the Clark Fork Trout & Tackle shop in St. Regis, Montana. Here is what he says:
Larry, Looks like our local Ameletus Grey Drake. Clear wing except a bit of color on the leading edge. The March Brown and callibaetis will have mottled wing through the whole wing.
Larry —sagefisher—
Larry,
Thanks for the info. I’ll give Brooks a call. I really trust his advise about the Clark Fork and they are a super family.
Rex
The glassy (hyaline) wing would indicate that the fly is a spinner and although Callibaetis duns have overall mottled wings, the spinners typically only exhibit dark brown or black markings on the leading edge of the wing. Callibaetis mayflies are most commonly found in lakes but can also inhabit any slow-moving waters, frequently being found in gently flowing spring creeks.
Preston is exactly correct. Would only add that it’s a female.
So are there any mayflies that you would expect to find in a waterless pine forest? I’ve never seen any before.
Rex
“No streams or lakes within 7 or 8 miles” – sounds like a relative desert, and my copy of DeLorme’s Gazetteer doesn’t show very many areas around Spokane that wouldn’t have any water sources within a 16 mile radius. Mayflies are rather primitive insects and their wings are best adapted to flying up and down; controlled directional flight, not so good. Once airborne they are pretty much at the mercy of the wind and can sometimes be carried for long distances.
Preston or Taxon,
This insect seems to have a lot of color for a ‘spinner’ ! It must be in the ‘early stage’ of ‘imago’, or am I wrong?
Sometimes the light angle in a photo can be deceptive!
Just asking…
* Taxon… how are you ?
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!
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,
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
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