Show Notes
Hi folks, Part of the delay in getting this episode out was fishing (I knew you'd understand). On the positive side, that fishing gave me the opportunity to get some good pictures of crane flies while I was out there. This is one of my favorites - mostly because it shows what night collecting with a UV light can be like. This was on a little brook trout stream up by the Canadian border where we camped a few weeks ago. The crane fly in the pic was pretty darn big - maybe 2" long. Note all the critters around the crane fly, tho. Those are all mayflies and caddisflies that had come to the light. And yes, the fishing was good.
Here is another crane fly - taken on another trip this spring. What I like about this guy is that he is only about 1/2" long - so you can see (well, you can't without scale, but believe me) the variation in size of these critters. Tie up some smaller guys - they don't all have to be giants. I also like this picture because you can easily see the halteres - the reduced second pair of wings that are distinctive of order Diptera - the flies:
In the podcast I mentioned how some crane flies have cool patterns on the legs - which make them very distinctive when they fly. Obligingly, this guy appeared on another recent fishing trip:
OK, how about some flies. Here is what I use for the adults. This is a bit of a fancy version in that I added a parachute hackle to the thorax - often I don't bother. It is simply a foam body, knotted monofilament legs, and hackle tip wings. Really not much to it:
The larvae are also pretty simple to tie. To imitate that swimming motion adding a tail is worthwhile. This fellow is simply a leather strip tied down with a tail and wrapped to the head. The strip is the fringe from a cheesy 1960s style vest my ex-wife gave my daughter when she was little. She didn't dig it, so it ended up in my fly tying pile.
Lastly, probably my favorite and most useful crane fly imitation is simply a hare's ear body dubbed on a large scud hook. I mean really - what's not to like about this fly? Simple, buggy, effective. Can't beat it:
That's it - now get out there and fish!
More from Angler's Entomology Podcast
A discussion of metamorphosis - focusing on simple metamorphosis as it relates to mayflies, stoneflies, and damsel and dragonflies. And of course rambles about the nature of change. I hope you enjoy.
Hey Everyone, Here are the pictures and patterns that are relevant to Part 1 on of metamorphosis - focusing in incomplete metamorphosis and the critters that do that. (Primarily mayflies, stoneflies and dragon and damselflies). First, though, as promised in the podcast, here is what a silverfish looks like. A little worse for wear - he's (or she) has been pickled for 8 years, so it's lost a lot of its color. Normally, they are a very silver color - hence the name. In some ways you may say this looks a little like a mayfly nymph. In real life, looking at them, you would not mistake them as being different.
Hey everyone. I hope you enjoy today's episode on black quills. I have some nice pics and patterns on the blog, so check that out too. Email me ([email protected]) if you want a guided entomology/fishing trip and get your loot at Selene's Fly Shop.
Hey everyone. Here is my blog post for Episode 54: Pics and Patterns for Black Quills. First let's take a look at the nymph. Here is a nice black quill nymph with a scale in centimeters. It is hard to see, but note the length of the antennae and the nice dark wing cases. That suggests he (or she) is likely to hatch soon. (Well, if he (or she) wasn't pickled in alcohol since 2003). Also fyi, this one was collected in a pond - which make sense, they migrate from moving water to still water to hatch. In contrast, the next specimen was collected in a stream, and you'll note the lack of developed wing pads (noting it was also collected earlier in the season).
Hey folks, hope you all enjoy part 2 of our discussion about how insects reproduce. Lots of wild stuff in this. And check out the blog - I added lots of cool pictures that are relevant to both episode 51 and 53. Enjoy!