What gives you a thrill?....For many of us it's the big things in life....but for some of us out here in the mountains and along the rivers it's the little things you see each day. Ron came running up from the river this morning full of excitement. He was watching the "Stonefly" hatch. I know that must send chills down your spine and turn you green with envy. Well folks, where there's Stoneflies along the river there's trout. Ron had me take a few photos so that he could tie some flies that look like them and a masterful job he did. It was fascinating seeing the stages they go through right in front of our eyes.
The female stoneflies, after mating, skim the surface of the rivers, dipping their abdomens into the water, and release their eggs. Sometimes they crawl to the bottom of a stream and release their eggs. The trout think this is pretty cool. Fast food.
The eggs develop for a couple of weeks and then hatch into a nymph stage. These nymphs have an exoskeleton which won't let them grow too much so they shed the skeleton and form another layer. This is molting and the period between molts is called the instar. There can be from 10 to 30 instars in their development and the time this takes can be from a few months to as long as 2-3 years.
Nymphs eventually crawl out of the stream onto a stone, tree branch (they were in the stick like shrubs along the bank) or log and remain long enough to dry and split their nymph case. The adult then emerges from the exoskeleton, looking very much like nymphs with wings added and will then fly or climb into the nearby trees. You can see an empty exoskeleton here.
Once their wings dry the adults will mate (the males drum their abdomens on a tree branch to attract the females). The female then deposits the eggs into the river and things start all over again. Depending on the type of stonefly they may live a week or more.
Didn't you always want to know this? Somehow I think I should have paid more attention to Bio 101. If I'd seen it in action, as we did today, it would have been way more interesting and I bet I would have remembered. That's a stretch!
3 comments:
Jane & Ron, it sounds like you're having a great trip so far! We've been home from our family cruise to Alaska for 4 days now, so I finally had time to take a look at your blog. Here are a few comments that came to mind as I read through the entries.
That was a nice tribute to Brea.
It didn't take Charley long to learn how to make his first blog post.
Glad Cody and his friends enjoyed the raft trip. Sounds like Alison and Steve had real culture shock! Raft photos brought back many pleasant memories from 2004. Great pictures from up on the bridge. How many X does your camera zoom?
Looks like Fred has a good grip on the wine bottle at the Middle Mountain picnic.
Love those big hats that Gil and Nancy have!
The 6/11 pictures convinced me that I don't want to try fly fishing.
That anniversary dinner sounds yummy - especially since we're going to have Lynn's homemade vegetable soup tonight in an attempt to drop a pound or two that we added on the cruise.
That 6/17 picture of Charley with the doleful eyes is priceless! But what is this about sour cream on noses?
Looks like on 6/19 you started making your pictures smaller. Running out of space on the ol' memory card?
Re: Oatmeal & Peanut Butter - I've been eating oat bran almost every morning for 40 years, and I love peanut butter, but I've never combined them. Maybe I'll give it a try.
Re: Grits - We ate them once in a while when we lived in Florida in the 60s. Some of the natives called them Gree-uts (two syllables). They come in handy if you happen to be hanging wallpaper and run out of paste.
Don't tell Lynn that you are having a latte every day. I make them once a week around these parts.
Later on 6/19: Now the pictures are big again. Good! The better to see Tom and Huck up close and personal.
6/20: Great reflection shot in the RV windows!
Thanks for the biology lesson on stoneflies (and the great close-up photos). I've learned something new today!
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OK, I've finally caught up on the blog and will keep a closer watch on it from now on. Just one burning question - where is JET??? Has Charley chased her away? Are things going so perfectly that she agrees with everything Jane says?
Good to have you back Jim. Jet has not shown up yet. She says she will no longer ride with us on the twisty, turny mountain roads. Who knows when she'll arrive. That's incentive for me to stay in the mountains! Are you the one who eats grilled cheese, tomato and peanut butter sandwiches? Made one the other day and it was fantastic....but then again I love grits! jane
Yep, Lynn adds sliced tomatoes and peanut butter to our grilled cheese sandwiches. We'd never go back to the plain old bread-and-cheese variety.
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