For a couple of weeks now I've been getting hatches of these in my conservatory - or rather they seem to be attracted by the heat into the conservatory. Quite small (that's a 5p in the picture) with two tails.

I usually get it wrong, but I'm going to say a male small dark olive dun?

I live a couple of hundred yards from a river, though it's slow and silted and I don't often see upwinged flies on it.

Kev

I think its the large dark olive male, about to change into his dancing clothes, seems you must be the nearest changing room, sounds like quite a trek.

Wheres Terry C when you need a definite and thoughtful reply?





great pics by the way!

Male - Family Baetidae.


A 5 pence piece is 18 mm dia - therefore one of the smaller species at about 10 mm body length.

Do you have any more images Kev? I'd like to study the small rear wings showing in the second photo. Poor angle on the first - for I/D purposes - despite it being a stunning photo otherwise.

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Save the softmouth trout

What are you thinking 'atrbatinus?', surely if its been around for a few weeks, its way too early for small and medium darks.

[QUOTE=Ephemerella;699512] Do you have any more images Kev? I'd like to study the small rear wings showing in the second photo. [QUOTE]

Here's a better shot of the rear wing, and before you say it that's my finger not my elbow!

Too small for a LDO?

Kev

I think the eyes are too red for B. bioculatus.

I'm stuck in a motel room 150 miles from my reference books. I wanted to check hind wing shape for Centroptilum luteolum but the latest image shows it isn't (thanks Kev).
Must be one of the other 'pale watery' olives.


Pom - I also say: "Bring back TC".

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According to my wee book it looks the spit of a Iron blue dun, eyes match perfectly, body 6-8mm in length.

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The hind wing there with the forked vein looks like B.muticus, it would also be the right flight period.

I bet the old B*gger is watching us as a guest and chuckling away.

My thoughts were that way too. Brick coloured eyes and dark grey tails. I thought the wings would have been darker though.

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Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.

Its not like my local Iron Blue variety which have darker wings, almost black bodies and aren't out yet.

How about Baetis scambus which is a similar sized #15 fly?
C.F. Walker said the two are sometimes confused so I've copied the relevant section (from an old forgotten copy I forgot was in the car ). I've no proper references at the moment so can someone else look it up?




In case the images are unreliable I've repeated some text just in case:



"The dun has dark grey wings, not quite so dark or so blue as those of the Iron Blue, for which, however, it could be mistaken at a little distance.

The male spinner is a slightly darker version of bioculatus from which it can be readily distinguished by its red-brown eyes.
The female spinner differs from her bioculatus counterpart in the colour of the body, which is dark brown and tinged with olive in the early stages."

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Save the softmouth trout