**Mayfly Species Cinygmula reticulata (Western Ginger Quill)**

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Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)

» Family Heptageniidae (March Browns, Cahills, Quill Gordons)

» Genus Cinygmula (Dark Red Quills)

» Species reticulata (Western Ginger Quill)

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Western Ginger Quill
	Small Western Ginger Quill
	Pale Brown Dun
	Dark Rusty Spinner
	Dark Cahill

Pictures Below ↓

Cinygmula reticulata is probably the second most important species of Cinygmula behind Cinygmula ramaleyi, perhaps because the waters where it can be found in good numbers are often more remote. They have been reported as abundant in many high country streams of the Southern Rockies as well as the High Sierra's Eastern slope. An obvious difference in their coloration may be the easiest way to tell them apart. Cinygmula ramaleyi is more somber with a brownish body and dark gray wings and is often confused with the similar sized and colored Ephemerella tibialis, in spite of the difference in tail counts. Cinygmula reticulata on the other hand is a bright cinnamon dorsally with pale creamy legs and pale wings that are often a brilliant canary yellow. This is one of North America's most beautiful mayflies.

Where & When

Region: West

Time Of Year (?): May through early September, location dependant

Preferred Waters: Cold moving water over shallow gravel or stones

Altitude: Variable

This taxon's preference for shallow cold water seems to be a limiting factor on distribution. Timing is dependant on elevation and seasonal weather. High country hatches often peak in late July.

Hatching Behavior

Time Of Day (?): Midday

Habitat: Smooth flowing water over shallow gravel or stones, meadow streams

Water Temperature: Seem to thrive best in water that remains cold even in mid Summer

There is scant reporting on this species in angling literature, so behavior that runs the gamut for Heptagenids is possible. Due to the environs where it is most often found, "selective" feeding is rarely at issue.

Nymph Biology

Current Speed: Slow to medium

Substrate: Gravel to small cobble.

Pictures of 3 Mayfly Specimens in the Species Cinygmula reticulata:

Cinygmula reticulata (Western Ginger Quill) Mayfly Nymph

View 1 PicturesI collected several live specimens of nymphs and reared them to the imago (Imago: The sexually mature adult stage of the mayfly is called the imago by scientists and the spinner by anglers.) stage. They were C. reticulata. The interesting thing is they were collected in May and were emerging along with Rhithrogena (March Brown). This seems to be an overlooked hatch since in some rivers it emerges very early, before runoff.

Collected May 10, 2009 from the Big Thompson River in Montana
Added to Troutnut.com by Bnewell on June 26, 2011

Female Cinygmula reticulata (Western Ginger Quill) Mayfly Dun

View 1 Pictures

Collected June 15, 2011 from the Touchet River in Washington
Added to Troutnut.com by Bnewell on June 24, 2011

Male Cinygmula reticulata (Western Ginger Quill) Mayfly Spinner

View 7 PicturesThe lengths of the wing and body, measured with a caliper, are both 8 mm.

Keys in Needham's 1935 Biology of Mayflies point to either Cinygmula reticulata or Cinygmula gartrelli. IT seems to have “cross veins in costal half of fore wing only, slightly margined with brown” and “wings tinged withamber at base and along costal margin of both wings” (gartrelli) as opposed to “all cross veins of both wings faintly but broadly margined with pale smoky” and “wings entirely amber-tinged” (although there is a slight amber tinge throughout, just more pronounced in places) as in reticulata. However, wing length reported for reticulata (9 mm) is closer to this specimen than gartrelli (10 mm). Ventral (Ventral: Toward or on the bottom.) median marks are supposed to be “traces” for reticulata and “present” for gartrelli. Descriptions for both species involve semi-hyaline (Hyaline: Highly transparent, or glassy; usually refers to insect wings, especially those of mayfly spinners.) anterior (Anterior: Toward the front of an organism's body. The phrase "anterior to" means "in front of.") abdominal segments not present on my specimens. Distribution records suggest reticulate lives nearby, so I'm going with that, but I can't confidently rule out gartrelli.

Collected August 1, 2020 from Mystery Creek #237 in Montana
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on August 18, 2020

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Jargon Defined:

Anterior: Toward the front of an organism's body. The phrase "anterior to" means "in front of."

Hyaline: Highly transparent, or glassy; usually refers to insect wings, especially those of mayfly spinners.

Imago: The sexually mature adult stage of the mayfly is called the imago by scientists and the spinner by anglers.

Nymphs: The juvenile, underwater stages of mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies and other aquatic insects whose juvenile stages are covered by hard exoskeletons. The word can also refer to the fishing flies which imitate these creatures, in which case it is used as a blanket term for flies imitating any underwater stage of an invertebrate (except for crayfish and leeches).

Ventral: Toward or on the bottom.

Useful References:

Arbona, Fred Jr. 1989. Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout. Nick Lyons Books.

Caucci, Al and Nastasi, Bob. 2004. Hatches II. The Lyons Press.

Knopp, Malcolm and Robert Cormier. 1997. Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera . The Lyons Press.