**Mayfly Species Heptagenia elegantula (Pale Evening Dun)**

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)

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

» Genus Heptagenia

» Species elegantula (Pale Evening Dun)

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Pale Evening Dun
	Western Pink Quill
	Western Red Quill
	Slate Gray Dun
	Gray Drake

Pictures Below ↓

The spinner falls of this elegant species can be quite important to anglers across the West. Recent revisions have synonymized the Midwestern species Heptagenia diabasia that may be of some local importance.

Where & When

Region: West

Time Of Year (?): June and Juuly

Preferred Waters: Large rivers

Altitude: Below 6,000 feet

The hatch dates given for Heptagenia elegantula in Selective Trout are August 5th to September 25th. This conflicts with the June and July dates claimed by two other authors.

Hatching Behavior

Time Of Day (?): Late morning for less than an hour

Water Temperature: Above 50°F

According to Fred Arbona in Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout, the duns of this species emerge and fly off the water so quickly that they aren't important to imitate.

Spinner Behavior

Spinner falls give the best fishing offered by elegantla. They follow the typical Heptagenia spinner behavior.

Nymph Biology

Current Speed: Slow to moderate

Substrate: Fine gravel, maybe sand or silt

Pictures of 1 Mayfly Specimen in the Species Heptagenia elegantula:

Heptagenia elegantula (Pale Evening Dun) Mayfly Nymph

View 6 Pictures

Collected June 5, 2005 from Eighteenmile Creek in Wisconsin
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 24, 2006

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Jargon Defined:

Duns: Mayflies have two adult stages. They first emerge from the water as duns (scientifically known as the subimago stage). They then molt into the spinner (imago) stage, in which they mate and die. Sometimes the word "dun" is confusingly used to refer to a brownish gray color in fly tying materials.

Spinner: There are two winged stages of adult mayflies. They emerge from the water as duns, molt on land (usually) into their fully mature stage, spinners. As spinners, they mate, lay eggs, and die.

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.

Schwiebert, Ernest G. 1955. Matching the Hatch. MacMillan Publishing Company.

Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.