Baetis tricaudatus of Gunnison County, Colorado

Ephemeroptera: Baetidae of Gunnison County, Colorado

Baetis tricaudatus Dodds 1923

Common Names:Iron Blue Quill, Light Rusty Spinner, Blue winged Olive (5) (BWO), Dark blue winged Olive #18-20, Little Blue Dun, Little Blue Quill

Updated 19 Nov 2008

Description

Larvae have dark bilobed marks in the center of the pronotum. They have three unbanded tails, the center filament is relatively long and thick in many animals. Gill margins are serrate with fine setae.

Locations Collected

East River, Gunnison River, Coal Creek. Baetis tricadatus is one of the most widespread Baetis species in North America.

Notes

Known to eastern flyfishermen as Baetis vagans, but now combined with Baetis tricaudatus. Recently Baetis mofatti was synonymized (merged taxonomically) with B. tricaudatus as well. This is one of the rhodani species group of Baetis.

Good Links

On this website:
Introduction to Baetis
Key to Baetis Nymphs

Other Websites:
Hatch Chart for the Gunnison Gorge & Black Canyon from Cimarron Creek Guides in Montrose http://cimarroncreek.com/flyfishing/hatchchart.cfm

Map - Kondratieff, Boris C. (coordinator). 2000. Mayflies of the United States. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. (Version 12DEC2003). http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/mfly/usa/53.htm

PAN Pesticides database: http://www.pesticideinfo.org/PCW/List_AquireAll.jsp?Species=5335

References

Ball,SL; Hebert,PDN; Burian,SK; Webb,JM 2005 Biological identification of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) using DNA barcodes. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 24 3, 508-524.

Bergey,EA and Ward,JV 1989 Upstream-downstream movements of aquatic invertebrates in a Rocky Mountain stream, Hydrobiologia, Volume 185( 1) 71-82. Abstract
     Baetis tricaudatus showed a size difference in drift behavior. Smaller animals tended to stay on the bottom, drifting less than larger animals. At the same time, nymphs moving during the day were significantly smaller than those moving at night.

Carlisle,Daren M; Clements,William H 2003 Growth and secondary production of aquatic insects along a gradient of Zn contamination in Rocky Mountain streams. Journal North American Benthological Society 22(4), 582-597. Abstract and entire paper

Clements,WH 1999 Metal tolerance and predator-prey interactions in benthic macroinvertebrate stream communities. Ecological Applications 9, 1073-1084.

Clements,WH; Carlisle,DN; Lazorchak,JM; Johnson,PC 2000 Heavy metals structure benthic communities in Colorado mountain streams. Ecological Applications 10(2)626-638. Abstract

DeWalt,RE; Stewart,KW; Moulton,SR; Kennedy,JH 1994 Summer emergence of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies from a Colorado mountain stream. Southwestern Naturalist 39 3, 249-256.

Dobrin,M and Giberson, DJ 2004 Life history and production of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) in a spring-fed stream in Prince Edward Island, Canada: evidence for population asynchrony in spring habitats? Can. J. Zool./Rev. Can. Zool. 81(6): 1083-1095
http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/rp/rp2_abst_e?cjz_z03-091_81_ns_nf_cjz

Dodds,GS 1923 Mayflies from Colorado: descriptions of certain species and notes on others. Transactions of American Entomological Society 69, 93-116.
     Dodds described Baetis tricaudatus from South Boulder Creek in the early 1900s. He also describes Baetis intermedius which has been synonymized (combined taxonomically) with B. tricaudatus. Quote from page 112: "Lives in moderately swift streams, but not in as swift parts as either of the preceding nymphs (B. bicaudatus and intermedius). In south Boulder Creek and its tributaries, 5,500 to 11,150 feet."

Dosdall, LM; Goodwin, LR; Casey, RJ; Noton, L 1997 The effect of ambient concentrations of chlorate on survival of freshwater aquatic invertebrates. Water Quality Research Journal of Canada. 32(4) 839-854.
      Also mentioned in the PAN pesticides database link above and on the Ambient Water Quality Guidelines for Chlorate website from Government of British Columbia, Ministry of the Environment.

Durfee,R; Kondratieff,BC 1993 Description of adults of Baetis magnus (Ephemeroptera:Baetidae). Entomological News 104 5, 227-232.
    They discuss the details of telling this species apart from Baetis magnus.

Durfee,RS; Kondratieff,BC 1999 Notes on North American Baetis (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae):Baetis moffatti new synonym of B. tricaudatus and range extension for B. bundyae. Entomological News 110 3, 177-180.

Edmunds Jr, GF. 1995 Habitat differences between northern and southern populations of mayflies of the western United States. Pages 171-176 in Corkum LD; Ciborowski JJH. Current Directions in Research on Ephemeroptera. Canadian Scholars' Press, Inc. Toronto.

Harper, P.P. and F. Harper. 1997. Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) of the Yukon. Pp. 152-167 In: H.V. Danks and J.A. Downes, eds. Insects of the Yukon. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/pdf/harper.pdf

Irving,EC; Baird,DJ; Culp,JM 2003 Ecotoxicological responses of the mayfly Baetis tricaudatus to dietary and waterborne cadmium: implications for toxicity testing. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 22, 1058-1064.

Kiffney,PM; Clements,WH 1994 Effects of heavy metals on a macroinvertebrate assemblage from a Rocky Mountain stream in experimental microcosms. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13 4, 511-523.
     Insects were collected from artifical substrates left in the Big South Fork of the Cache la Poudre River draining the Front Range of Colorado. Riparian vegetation was Willow, Ponderosa, and Aspen (Salix spp. Pinus ponderosa and Populus tremuloides) at the collection site. B. tricaudatus and other aquatic insects were then subjected to one of 4 metal exposure treatments in the water of artifical streams at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. B. tricaudatus densities were reduced at levels of 1 µg/l (1 microgram per liter) of Cadmium, 12 µg/l of Copper and 110 µg/l Zinc (all metals at the same time).

Maret,TR; Cain,DJ; MacCoy,DE; Short,TM 2003 Response of benthic invertebrate assemblages to metal exposure and bioaccumulation associated with hard-rock mining in northwestern streams, USA. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 22 4, 598-620. Abstract and entire paper

McCafferty,WP; Durfee,RS; Kondratieff,BC 1993 Colorado mayflies (Ephemeroptera): an annotated inventory. Southwestern Naturalist 38 3, 252-274. PDF
     Quote from page 256: "This appears to be one of the most ubiquitous stream-dwelling mayfly species found in Colorado, and perhaps in North America (see Morihara and McCafferty, 1979b). It is known from many color and size variants that apparently may be correlated to a large extent with particular thermal growth regimes that vary with seaon and local, similar to that demonstrated experimentally in Stenacron and Hexagenia by McCafferty and Periera (1984) and also shown by Kondratieff and Voshell (1984) in field population variants of Isonychia. " The authors also mention at the end of their discussion of Faunisitics that B. tricaudatus is one of "those mayfly species that are truly widespread in North America"

Molles,MC and Pietruszka,RD 1983 Mechanisms of prey selection by predaceous stoneflies: roles of prey morphology, behavior and predator hunger. Oecologia 57(1) 25-31. Abstract

Morihara,DK; McCafferty,WP 1979 The Baetis larvae of North America (Ephemeroptera:Baetidae). Transactions of American Entomological Society 105, 139-221.

Peckarsky,BL 1980 Influence of detritus on colonization of stream invertebrates. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37, 957-963.

Short,RA 1983 Food habits and dietary overlap among six stream collector species. Freshwater Invertebrate Biology 2:132-138. PDF

Stewart,KW and Szczytko,SW 1983 Drift of Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera in two Colorado rivers. Freshwater Invertebrate Biology. 2(3)117-131. PDF

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Data Warehouse (NAWQA) shows this species is present in Gunnison County. Data as of 1Sep2005

Ward,JV; Stanford,JA 1990 Ephemeroptera of the Gunnison River, Colorado, USA. In: Mayflies and Stoneflies. Ed: Campbell,IC Kluwer Academic Publishers,215-220.

Illustrations

The setae on the edges of the gills is fine and hard to spot on smaller nymphs. The edges of the gills are serrated too. See Baetis magnus

Brown, Wendy S. 2004 Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) of Gunnison County, Colorado, USA
www.gunnisoninsects.org