niveker 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2022 From the Swift River this morn, anyone care to venture a guess. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2022 They look like hellgrammites (Dobson Fly larvae). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2022 Possibly. I was leaning more towards a caddisfly larvae at first. Pretty sure that's what the smaller ones are. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2022 41 minutes ago, niveker said: Possibly. I was leaning more towards a caddisfly larvae at first. Pretty sure that's what the smaller ones are. Could be caddis. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2022 The big ones look like a large-ish olive brown caddis larva, maybe two different types... Took a look through Caddisflies for non-cased caddis in your neck of the woods, came up with a few educated guesses: Cheumstopsyche harwoodi (little sister sedge) -- olive brown larva sizes 12-16, "In small eastern rivers from Georgia to Maine this is frequently the most abundant species of Cheumstopsyche. The incredible numbers of emerging and egg laying individuals during May and June also make C. harwoodi a very important species for anglers." Hydropsyche bronta or H. sparna (spotted sedge) -- olive brown larva sizes 6-12, of H. bronta, "Collections show that this stream and small-river species is common to abundant from Montana east to Connecticut. The peak of emergence seems to occur just as the weather begins to turn nice for the season in whatever region it is in." Of H. sparna, in the Midwest they are "profuse in the gravel-bottomed trout streams of the region, where they emerge in late spring and early summer. This species also is common to abundant throughout the Northeast." Envious of your proximity to the trouts... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2022 The one on the far right looks like a midge pupa... No clue what the one on the bottom might be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted March 19, 2022 Sorry I haven't taken the time to respond, @chugbug27, thanks for those suggestions. I think you may be correct about the midge pupa. The one on the bottom is the same, but got smooshed by my sausages trying to move it around. As to the one in the middle, the other morning I had an extra 40 minutes or so to visit the same general area of the river, as my first appointment for work was canceled. Pretty sure the mid sized guys family are the one that were beginning to hatch that morning. I was able to get a few photos. I believe they are Dolophilodes distinctus commonly referred to as winter-summer caddis, as I've seen them hatching anytime of the year. They're pretty well known on the Farmington River in Connecticut, a bit to the south of here. Here's a good article describing their interesting life cycle: Northern Woodlands: The Winter Caddisfly I saw this one running on top of the water towards shore, a bit hard to define in the first photo. Picked her up and she began to hatch, obviously a female as no wings were present after she hatched. Put her down on a rock and a scrum formed within a few seconds, I was able to separate two of the lovebirds. At least one big guy gently rising on the other side of the pool, dorsal and tail fin visible. Sorry for the poor photo. As to the large, I'm still going through your great suggestions, I'm leaning towards H. sparna. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted March 19, 2022 3 hours ago, niveker said: Dolophilodes distinctus 👍 Very cool stuff re the wingless females in the winter, weird even. LaFontaine says the larva are yellow, size 10-14... Fwiw... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
