California Giant Stonefly

[SullyTM]

I have a request...hopefully, someone can help me. Can anyone who is fishing in the Sierra region capture and preserve a California Giant Stonefly(Pteronarcy California Stonefly), both adult and nymph for me...Yes, I'm afraid it's life will have to be terminated. I'd like to get these "real" insects to serve as realistic fly tying models. Pictures are one thing, however, an actual "subject" benefits my dimensional calculations. I'm not even sure when these stoneflys are active ...If anyone can help me I will return the favor...Thank you. Thom

[Darian]

Hey Thom,..... maybe a digital photo with measurements would suffice.... If you recall, there're some posts under this topic by at least two Entomologists that may be able to supply a photo.

If not, there're several good books on the subject. Of course, one of the "go to" references is "Aquatic Insects of California" by Robert L. Usinger. This book is an academic tomb but has a lot of info about the collection/preservation/taxonomy of all waterborn insects in this state....

I built a collection like you're doing and found that I didn't use it as much as did print media/my own notes....