Female Leucrocuta hebe (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

Jason-

Your question about the Little J mystery hatch finally motivated me to put all the pieces together on this. I am now confident enough to recommend that specimens #643 (female dun), #622 (female spinner), and #644 (female spinner) should all be entered under Leucrocuta hebe along with the two male spinners already on the Leucrocuta page.

Thomas Ames' Hatch Guide for New England Streams has a photo of a female spinner on pg. 126 that matches these precisely. Apropos of your photo of this specimen in particular, he makes this interesting observation:

"After molting the yellowish hues of the females get richer, and the markings on their clarified wings get more defined, with a propensity toward rainbow-like refractions[my emphasis]."

With a fairly complete collection of photos, the observations from the Little J gang, and mine from pg. 93, I think you can assemble a nice page on L. hebe. You'll have to start by upgrading its significance as an important hatch. It is also surprisingly widespread in both of our states. I have encountered very few streams in PA or NY that didn't have at least a token population, and most have lengthy, fishable hatches.

Like many other hatches that shine in the late season, this one is also historically late in receiving the recognition it deserves.