Volume I For the fly fisher seeking to catch more and bigger trout, fishing nymphs--patterns that mimic the larval stage of mayflies--can be a surefire approach. Nymphs: The Mayflies, the first volume in a totally revised edition of the 1973 original, is the singular authority on identifying the myriad species of mayfly larvae and tying imitations that will attract trout all across the country. Author Ernest G. Schwiebert spent the last fifty years of his life traveling, fishing, and gathering information on scores of mayfly species across the country. The 1973 edition of Nymphs set forth his initial findings. Now in this wholly revised and expanded form, Schwiebert's last work offers the reader exacting details of every major mayfly species for the sake of identification, along with recipes for dozens of fly patterns to imitate them. This new edition also contains numerous stories and anecdotes from Schwiebert's travels, some never set down in writing before, that further add to the understanding of how to choose, cast, and fish nymphs, and life.

Among the various groups of aquatic insects, mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are of special interest for professional limnologists and entomological researchers as well as for naturalists in general and even the dedicated fly angler. Identification has traditionally been considered difficult and implementation in environmental monitoring and freshwater management has led to an ever increasing demand for exact information on taxonomy and ecology. The present handbook is designed to provide for the first time an up-to-date standard work for Ephemeroptera identification, including last instar larvae (nymphs), subimago (dun), male and female imagines. Recent changes in nomenclature are discussed in detail as well as gaps in current knowledge and probable pitfalls concerning the reliable identification of all taxa known so far from the region. Keys are provided for genera and introductory chapters characterize every family and genus. Species accounts follow a common format providing a synonymy, characters for identification (including literature references), remarks (on type material, variation, confusing or extralimital species) and short information on biology and distribution pattern. Male genitalia are illustrated by micrographs and line drawings, REM photographs of the egg chorionic structure are provided for genera and selected species. Habitus of larvae and imagines are for most genera illustrated by colour photographs. The geographical area covered is Europe including the European part of Russia, the mediterranean islands and North Africa. Short additional information is provided for adjacent parts of the western Palaearctic Region. A comprehensive index, check-list and distribution catalogue (following the widely adopted concept of Illies’ Limnofauna Europaean) allow for quick information on all species recorded so far from Europe.

The Mayflies of North and Central America was first published in 1976. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Mayflies have fascinated man for centuries because of the brief span of their adult lives. These aquatic insects spend most of their lives as nymphs in water, then develop into winged stages and soon die, most species having an adult life of only two or three days. This brevity is implied in the very name of the order, Ephemeroptera. The mayflies are almost worldwide in distribution, being found everywhere except in Antarctica, the extreme Arctic, and many small oceanic islands. All by three of the twenty families in the world occur in North or Central America, the regions covered in this volume. The book provides a modern, useful, and well-illustrated key to the adults and nymphs. Data on habitats, behavior, and life history are given for each genus. Characteristics of nymphs and adults are given for families, subfamilies, and genera, with brief accounts for extralimital families. A discussion of methods of collecting and preserving specimens precedes the main portion of the text. The book is generously illustrated with drawings, photographs, and a map. The role of aquatic insects as indicators of water pollution has received increasing attention, and in this connection this book will be of special interest to those concerned with pollution problems. Mayflies, besides indicating the presence of pollutants, also help remove such substances from the waters, the authors explain. As a basic reference work, the book is essential for all biological science libraries. Many fly-fishermen are amateur students of mayflies, since the nymphs of larger species are used as bait. With the help of this volume the fisherman can acquire a greater knowledge of aquatic entomology and relate to his sport.