“Small Square-gilled Mayflies”
Family Overview
Caenidae
Small Square-gilled Mayflies
This family includes over 30 North American species in 4 genera. They prefer slow-moving or stagnant water where there is an abundance of silt and loose sediment and are often found sprawled on/in the silt or climbing among the plants. They tend to be slow-moving and often partially cover themselves in sediment, making them difficult to spot. They feed by filtering or collecting and gathering tiny bits of food or by scraping algae and biofilm from rocks and other substrates in their habitat. Several genera in this group can be useful to fly-fishermen, but due to the short life-span, it can be difficult to time your fishing trip just right or you will miss the "hatch" (eclosion or emergence as adults).
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Mid-Atlantic: up to 7
Upper Midwest: 3 - 7
Midwest: up to 3.1
Southeast: 3.5 - 7.6
0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
FEEDING HABITS
Collector / Gatherer
Scraper / Grazer
Scraper / Grazer
MOVEMENT
Climber
Sprawler
Sprawler
Diagnostic Characters
Media
Audio description of family Caenidae by Dr. John Morse
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