Almost every male mayfly in the Heptageniidae family has tails that exceed twice the length. No matter the genus. Stenacron males work like this; all male Stenacron that are between the body size of 8-10 mm have tails that are exactly 22 mm. For Maccaffertium they are more like 18 mm. The female has to carry the male in flight to copulate and the long wide spent male tails are part of the balance theme. I believe I have laid it out as best as possible to show that they are not the same bug. However if you truly believe they are the same you have that right to do so.
I enjoy being right, but only when I am right.
I brought this up over on "Trout Nut" because I was curious to know what this(these)bug(s) is(are).
I've been seeing this bug for thirty years.
It is at an intermittent stream, a torrent at spring thaw, inches deep in the spring and inches to "dry" the rest of the year(save for a wet week or a strong thunderstorm).
I took the photos.
I photographed the bug on the leaf; I collected the others(exactly the same spot as the "leaf bug") and photographed them in my kitchen.
You believe that these are two different bugs.
I'm telling you that the leaf bug had JUST become a spinner and the other clearer bugs with darker tails are hours older versions of the leaf bug.
I can't find photos of any Pudicum that have tails OVER 3x the length of the body like the photo of my "leaf bug. The bugs in my kitchen ALSO have tails over 3x the length of their bodies.
The unusual tail length alone supports my belief that the two are the same bug and given that I can't find any pudicum with 3x tails makes me think that I've got a case for these being the same bug...
Look at the first two photos here:
http://www.troutnut.com/topic/8055/March-BrownQuill-Gordon
You can see the transformation to a clearer bug and darker tails.
The bugs in my kitchen photos are the end of the transformation,
dark eyes, clearer bodies and dark tails.
Come for a visit next spring, we'll document it and become famous in the bug world.
Or I'll be wrong and buy you dinner...