Green Drake

(body length approx. 0.8 cm)

There are several different kinds of mayflies thrown together under the common name of "Green Drake". More common is Drunella grandis, but probably one that is more interesting is the one pictured above. Though it is technically a crawler nymph (family Ephemerellidae), this genus seems to have developed a membrane on its underside that acts like a suction cup. Because of this, and the fact that its built like a tank, it is able to hold onto rocks very well. This makes it less probable that it will be available to trout, and therefore not very useful to imitate in the nymphal stage, but hey, its cool to look at.

The adults look much like the more common green drakes, however the body is about 25% shorter. These are fairly common in the coastal streams of Oregon, and hatch in late spring/early summer.

dmason@zebu.uoregon.edu