#fishfly

long time no see!

my first ever original comic, 'with love, fishfly' will be debuting at TCAF on june 6 & 7. come say hi!

The first friend is a bug I've never seen before! Found in northwestern Michigan.

The cicada shell however was found in the thumb area.

I hope you enjoy these friends!

Bug of the not-really-sure-but-it's-been-awhile

Somebody needs a comb!! ;-)

Spring Fishfly - Chauliodes rastricornis

This particular insect can be rather elusive unless you're near a body of water that is of high cleanliness and features conditions which allow their aquatic young to flourish. While astonishing to have taken these pictures and feature them here, these do not showcase a new Fishfly individual and hardly a new angle on the subject. Specifically, these are the remaining images which showcase an individual that has been previously highlighted, and had its most well-known characteristics outlined. For a brief refresher: insects like this one brandish beautiful and wide wings, and allow male Fishflies have feathered antennae in order to catch the scent of a female's alluring pheromones. Conversely, the female Spring Fishfly would have serrated antennae with saw-like grooves, rather than the elaborate extensions seen on this composed man.  As such, today's upload simply shares this insect as it perches on a screen door beneath a powerful outdoor light in the pre-summer dark night of Muskoka's cottage country. It was a great stroke of luck to find such an insect, and I sincerely hope that nature's good fortune allows may more insect surprises to be found over this new year, whether in cottage country or by some of the smaller ponds and waterways within Ontario.

For those intending to seek out this Megalopteran insect or other insects of similar form and quality such as Trichopterans, using a lamp's light at nighttime may yield success if you're patient. As an outdoor light will draw the attention of even more nocturnal insects in the process, I recommend to pay close attention to the flight of a potential Fishfly find. At a distance, it can closely resemble the flight pattern found in larger species of Moths. so it's not until landing that the identity of your insect would be more certain. Furthermore, searching (safely) in environments such as those in proximity to water or river stones may increase your odds of finding such insects, or others like them. Let's not forget that emerging adult Stoneflies - of the order Plecoptera, are also a pleasant find by the water, as are emerging Odonates. Finally, while not conclusively diagnostic of Fishfly species, timing the seasons right will help increase the chance to observe a Spring individual. As the seasons change and you wait a bit too close to July in Ontario, the Fishfly that you fish for could instead turn out to be a Summer Fishfly instead (but be sure to look at the head's ocelli to be very certain)! Let us see if 2026 has any new large-winged, clumsy flying, and dainty water-bound insects on the docket for this year.

Insects ID - MO, USA:

Hello, yes, the L photo is a Spring Fishfly (Chauliodes rastricornis), Corydalidae, order Megaloptera.

Fishfly