order
Coleoptera
“Adult Beetles”
Coleoptera
“Larval Beetles”
Diptera
“True Flies”
Ephemeroptera
“Mayflies”
Hemiptera
“True Bugs”
Lepidoptera
“Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
Megaloptera
“Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
Odonata
“Dragonflies and Damselflies”
Plecoptera
“Stoneflies”
Trichoptera
“Caddisflies”
family
Caenidae
“Small Square-gilled Mayflies”
Family Overview
Caenidae
Small Square-gilled Mayflies
This family includes over 30 North American species in 4 genera. They prefer slow-moving or stagnant water where there is an abundance of silt and loose sediment and are often found sprawled on/in the silt or climbing among the plants. They tend to be slow-moving and often partially cover themselves in sediment, making them difficult to spot. They feed by filtering or collecting and gathering tiny bits of food or by scraping algae and biofilm from rocks and other substrates in their habitat. Several genera in this group can be useful to fly-fishermen, but due to the short life-span, it can be difficult to time your fishing trip just right or you will miss the "hatch" (eclosion or emergence as adults).
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Mid-Atlantic: up to 7
Upper Midwest: 3 - 7
Midwest: up to 3.1
Southeast: 3.5 - 7.6
FEEDING HABITS
Collector / Gatherer
Scraper / Grazer
Scraper / Grazer
MOVEMENT
Climber
Sprawler
Sprawler
Diagnostic Characters
Order
Abdominal Gills
Single Tarsal Claw
Usually 3 Tails
Family
Square Semioperculate Gills
+ Expanded Character List
Order:
Wings developing in wing pads. Mouthparts suitable for chewing. Gills present on tops and sides of abdomen. Segmented legs present. One tarsal claw per leg. Usually with 3 tails (sometimes 2).
Family:
Mesonotum without anterolateral lobes of Neoephemeridae. Hind wing pads absent. Paired gills on abdominal segment 2 nearly square, and meeting or almost meeting medially (but NOT fused), at least partially covering succeeding pairs (semi-operculate). Plate-like gills on abdominal segments 3–6 with fringed borders. Mature larvae 2–8 mm long, not including tails.
Dorsal
Ventral