Greek, Latin, and Mayflies

In Greek, the word "ephemeros" means "short-lived." No one knows why early Greeks chose this term instead of just saying "short-lived."

What we do know is that Order Ephemeroptera is used by scientists to refer to mayflies (presumably because adults are short-lived), and that Greece is bankrupt due to poor toga sales and obfuscation.

However you refer to them, mayflies fascinate fly fishermen (LintFlickus Hookibilis - From Latin, literally meaning "Hooks himself with lint").

Anglers have limited numbers of brain cells by adulthood. Many can attribute this to the cerebral pickling effect of 18-year LAPHROAIG, while others may not have had substantive numbers at birth. Either way, the considerable mental horsepower given to mayflies is noteworthy. For example, when we see a member of Order Diptera, Family Chironomidae floating down the river, the angler may casually refer to the insect as a "midge."

By contrast, when seeing a speckled mayfly on the water, a field identification of "callibaeits" will invariably be used. True, we sometimes cheat and shorten terms like Hexagenia to "Hex" but everyone knows what is implied: If you can't say something smart, say it in Latin.

The mayfly may actually be the "fly" in fly fishing. After all, one of the earliest references to fly fishing (circa 200 AD by Ælian) describes what many believe to be dun imitations.

Hopefully there's a hatch coming to a water near you.

Trout's Eye View

If you ever find yourself in dire need of kicks, giggles, and a rousing good time - get out and take some underwater photos of a dry fly that is drifting with the river's current from a rising trout's perspective.

Oh, sure, there are some technical challenges but who doesn't love a good case of galloping trapezius spasms?

Hopper Time

Summer = Hoppers. Fly fishermen pay particular attention to them, because it means bombing terrestrial patterns the size of European swallows at gamefish. These tank-like, armored eating machines are really quite remarkable when you look closely, however.

I have experimented a little with new macro techniques lately. HDR is a method that has been increasingly used in landscape photography recently, but I've never seen it applied to insect macros. The use of backlighting and direct flash with HDR creates some fun images.

Wings Up

Lately the rains have been hitting Utah with sufficient enthusiasm to cause several of my neighbors to begin gathering up two of every animal. The moisture has been causing some hatches in unusual places, so I decided to dust off the macro lens and grab a few shots of mayflies and damsels.

Buggy shots are a good time. If you want to take advantage of a hatch near you, set your camera's aperture to f/22, use fill flash, and go to town.