giant stone fly pics!!!!

[day5 0]

Ok so here are the pics of the fly! IU had to wait for the wife to leave for the weekend she doesnt share our appreciation for bugs!! Actually she thinks IM a geek!!!!!

 

 

Any thoughts on the best way to preserve this bug???

[Taxon 0]

day5-

 

Very nice photos. I hear you; my wife, too. You have a Salmonfly, family Pteronarcyidae, either Pteronarcys dorsata or P. picketii. As far as preserving, I'd recommend a dry mount with it pinned through the thorax. Just Google on insect collecting, and you'll find a wealth of information.

[day5 0]

Im guessing that is a rare bug in SW Michigan??? I have never heard of any around here. I am unable to find a living range on the net do you know??

[Guest]

Matt, I have had that exact fly land on me while fishing Augusta creek in the middle of february.

 

john

[Alex C. 0]

First nymph I ever found was a Salmonfly nymph on the Pere Marquette, I'd kill to find another one

[day5 0]

Um isn't Augusta creek closed in february???? :nono: :hyst:

[harleyhunter 0]

Great Salmon fly! Awesome photos!!!! :headbang:

 

-Sam

[day5 0]

Matt, I have had that exact fly land on me while fishing Augusta creek in the middle of february.

 

john

 

 

John plus IM sure that it was not that exact fly IM sure that one wasent hatched yet

[sage8wt 0]

Um isn't Augusta creek closed in february???? :nono: :hyst:

 

 

Actually Augusta creek is not closed in February. So stay off my boy John's back. Break yourself fool!

[Taxon 0]

Im guessing that is a rare bug in SW Michigan??? I have never heard of any around here. I am unable to find a living range on the net do you know??

day5-

 

Don't know whether (or not) Pteronarcys are relatively rare in Michigan. Ethan Bright (Museum of Zoology Insect Division and School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan) lists two species of Pteronarcys as residing in Michigan on the Aquatic Insects of Michigan - Pteronarcyidae page of his website.

 

On the other hand, Richard Baumann (Brigham Young University & the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum) doesn't list any species of Pteronarcys as residing in Michigan (MI) on his North American Stonefly (Plecoptera) Complete List.

 

One possible interpretation of that inconsistency would be that Pteronarcys are not widely known to reside in Michigan. However, if you were to contact Ethan, I'm confident he would be happy answer your question. If you're lucky, Ethan may even see this thread, and offer some of his extraordinary knowledge, as he recently registered on this forum.

[day5 0]

Um isn't Augusta creek closed in february???? :nono: :hyst:

 

 

Actually Augusta creek is not closed in February. So stay off my boy John's back. Break yourself fool!

 

 

:bugeyes:

 

Shut up!!!!

 

Did you hear me shake my waders????

[Ethan Bright 0]

Hi:

 

Richard Baumann's information is wrong. Pteronarcys is distributed throughout most of Michigan. P. dorsata is quite common and widely distributed, whereas P. pictetii appears only from a few records. I've published with Scott Grubbs an annotated checklist of the stoneflies of Michigan in Great Lakes Entomologist. Here's a way to identify adult salmonflies:

 

1. a. Tip of male sternum of Ab9 in lateral view curved ventrad; b. S8 hind margin slightly bowed rearward, female subgential plate with square mesal notch - Pteronarcys pictetti Hagen

1'. a. Tip of male sternum of Ab9 in lateral view not curved ventrad; b. S8 hind margin not produced with female subgenital plate unnotched, with or without 2 small projections - Pteronarcys dorsata (Say)

 

As you probably surmise, a stereo microscope is best to accurately identify these if you're unfamilar with local species composition.

 

Cheers, Ethan

[Taxon 0]

Hi:

 

Richard Baumann's information is wrong. Pteronarcys is distributed throughout most of Michigan. P. dorsata is quite common and widely distributed, whereas P. pictetii appears only from a few records. I've published with Scott Grubbs an annotated checklist of the stoneflies of Michigan in Great Lakes Entomologist. Here's a way to identify adult salmonflies:

 

1. a. Tip of male sternum of Ab9 in lateral view curved ventrad; b. S8 hind margin slightly bowed rearward, female subgential plate with square mesal notch - Pteronarcys pictetti Hagen

1'. a. Tip of male sternum of Ab9 in lateral view not curved ventrad; b. S8 hind margin not produced with female subgenital plate unnotched, with or without 2 small projections - Pteronarcys dorsata (Say)

 

As you probably surmise, a stereo microscope is best to accurately identify these if you're unfamilar with local species composition.

 

Cheers, Ethan

Hi Ethan-

 

On the subject on stereo microscopes, I been seriously considering one for a while. This one allows not only stereo examination, but digital display and capture. Do you think it would be a wise choice? I don't have any previous experience with stereo microscopes, and have been reluctant to buy something that expensive without being able to try it out first.

 

[Ethan Bright 0]

Hi Roger:

 

Please, please, don't waste your money on this one. If you're going to plop down money on a microscope, spend what you can afford and buy the best quality. Microscopes are like audio equipment - the best stereo amplifier and disk player won't sound good if you have bad speakers.

 

Several problems with that scope. First, it only has 2 powers of magnification. If you're going to do any serious identification, you need at least 4 or more different levels of magnification. If using a fixed magnification magnifcation scope, I recommend at least something like 6x, 10x, 25x, 40-50x. I use zoom scopes. (I own a Wild M8 zoom from 6x-50x). You can then add 15x or 20x objectives to get more magnification.

 

The second piece of equipment you need is good lighting. Low power lighting makes for poor performance, since the light needs to pass through a host of lens elements. Invest in halogen lights, with at least 100 watts or more, and if you can afford it, with a flexible metal goose neck so you can reposition lighting to best see an insect character.

 

For people who are serious about insect identification, I recommend buying a used microscope from manufacturers like Wild, Leica, Zeiss, and Meiji. They are much better made, and will last a long time. Also, older Bosche and Lombe American zoom scopes are good. (Meiji might be the best bang for your buck. These Japanese-made scopes have good optics, and are constructed of sturdy metal bodies, and are very reasonably priced - recommend the EMZ-5 and EMZ-5TR). There are lots of good scopes being sold on eBay, for very reasonable prices. You should also contact some regional microscope dealers to get further information and recommendations for names and models. You might also want to contact some regional aquatic insect researchers for their opinions, and if possible, try out their equipment.

 

THEN get your digital camera setup going. You can really get good pics for web-site posting (remember, computer displays only project a reduced dpi resolution) from inexpensive digital cameras, and there now abound inexpensive 3-5 MP cameras. On the introductory page of Aquatic Insects of Michigan, I got the picture of the Chimarra larva 5 years ago with an old Nikon Coolpix put up to one of the ocular tubes that had the eyepiece removed.

 

A final point. Like a car, always try to "test-drive" a microscope with the samples your interested in examining, in this aquatic insects.

 

Being a snob about microscopes, I am not a big fan of the really inexpensive "introductory" scopes for the level of use I think you're interested in. Don't hesitate to ask further questions!!!

 

Cheers, Ethan

[Taxon 0]

Hi Ethan-

 

Wow, good thing I asked the question. Much to digest. Will probably get back to you later with followup questions after having followed your great advise. Thanks.