"Willow Fly" question

[flymaker]

The recent hatching of the willow flies has gotten me to wondering, I believe that the name "Willow flies" is basically a generic name for these flies. Does anybody know what the true name of this specific species is?

I am wanting to look into the life cycle of these flies and need to know what species they are.

Thanks

 

[Fat Albert]

<font color="#ff0066">I think it is a MAY FLY.  I don't know what the scientific name is...  FA</font>

 

[jon the fisherman]

Fat Albert - 6/23/2007 7:51 AM

<font color="#ff0066">I think it is a MAY FLY.  I don't know what the scientific name is...  FA</font>

They are late, it is almost July

Just googled it and the def. said it was a stone fly

 

[Troutbum]

It is definitely a species of mayfly. Mayflies have wings that stand straight up off of their backs like sails. Stoneflies have wings that overlap and lay flat on their backs.

My guess is that the "willow fly" is from the hexagenia family of mayflies. A lot of your bigger mayflies are hex's, and willow flies are pretty dang big as mayflies go. But again, that's just a guess on my part.

 

[MrWiskers]

My understanding is the "fly" stage of the willow fly only lasts a day or so. They "hatch" (bad word as they don't hatch, but change into flys), try to find a mate, lay egss and die. I think I read that in the fly stage they do not have a mouth and do not feed. What a way to go. They "hatch" straight out of the water too. Pretty neat to see them bubble out of the water by the 1000's.

 

[HangnMoss]

Ephemeroptera

 

[jon the fisherman]

MrWiskers - 6/24/2007 1:08 AM

My understanding is the "fly" stage of the willow fly only lasts a day or so. They "hatch" (bad word as they don't hatch, but change into flys), try to find a mate, lay egss and die. I think I read that in the fly stage they do not have a mouth and do not feed. What a way to go. They "hatch" straight out of the water too. Pretty neat to see them bubble out of the water by the 1000's.

Funny you mention that....I was out last year night fishing, and the hatch was going strong. I looked down and could barely see that something was around the black light. I turned on the flashlight, and there were thousands of them on the deck of the boat.I was scooping out handfulls and throwing them out....Not for the squeamish

 

[Buoy-Master]

 And here all along I thought they were just big flying bugs.

 

[MadBomber]

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/ephemeroptera.html </p>



All you ever wanted to know about mayflies and their lifecycle.</p>

 

[hl&s]

A flying bug that can't bite. If we could just hybrid them with mosquito's night fishing would be without it's #1 tormenter !

I fished Nick all last night and the willow fly's were all over my boat. I didn't dare talk too much in fear of swallowing a mouthfull !

emoBigsmile

 

[Troutbum]

All mayflies will fall under the ephemeroptera classification. I think you have to break it down to specific groups of mayflies to answer flymaker’s question. My hunch is still that the willow fly is likely part of the hexagenia family. Most hex’s are large, live in lakes and slow-moving streams, and “hatch” in the second half of June through the first half of July. Willow flies have all of these characteristics.

Great link by the way, MB. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tennfisher]

Doc1 - 6/26/2007 10:47 AM

My niece owns the Anchor Inn Bait and Tackle in Guild or Haletown on Nickajack lake and they have quite a few lights around the bait shop and gas pumps and the willow flies are so thick there at night that you can't hardly breathe for them, a pure nusince (sp). They have to try and blow them away with a leaf blower or vacume them up, any way to try to get the upper hand on them, I think it is a losing battle. If anyone wants garbage cans full of the critters, I guess she would part with some if you talked to her real sweet.

Doc1,
A dear friend of mine who passed away 35 years ago grew up in Marion County, their family farm was close by the old Hwy 41 bridge there at Haletown. He has sworn to me that as a young man he saw the willow flies so thick on that bridge that chains were required to navigate the upslope. I initially thought that he was pulling my leg but learned that he was very serious. I feel for your niece, to bad there isn't a good way to preserve these things for later use.

Tennfisher

 

[TennesseeTalker]

Being from Iowa .. and living on the Mississippi River my whole life .. we had these types of bugs too. Only we called them fish flies. They smell just like fish, would come into town so thick that from the waist up ... saturated with bugs. As cars drove down the street, you could hear the dead ones, dying ones pop under the wheels. When you went camping at the local campgrounds and had to go to the bathroom, you ran bent in half as to not get a face full of those bugs. They only lived like 24 to 48 hours .. and for a couple weeks reeked havoc on the town.

Fish Flies ... are these the same as Mayflies????

They came from the Mississippi River and Dubuque is situation right on the river. Merchants and folks used snow shovels to clean up the mess every day.


TT