Blue Quill vs Burrowing Mayfly
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Blue Quill | Burrowing Mayfly |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Paraleptophlebia guttata | Hexagenia limbata |
| Order | Ephemeroptera | Ephemeroptera |
| Family | Leptophlebiidae | Ephemeridae |
| Size | 6-9 mm | 18-32 mm body |
| Habitat | Rivers & Streams | Ponds & Lakes |
| Diet | Detritivores | Omnivores |
| Regions | North America | North America |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Blue Quill
A delicate spring-emerging mayfly with bluish-gray body coloring. Nymphs prefer riffles with abundant leaf detritus in clean streams.
Did You Know?
Anglers consider it one of the most important early-season hatches on trout streams.
Burrowing Mayfly
Creates massive synchronized emergences so dense they appear on weather radar. Billions emerge simultaneously from lake bottoms where nymphs burrowed for up to two years.
Did You Know?
Mayfly emergences along the Mississippi River are so massive they show up on Doppler weather radar — billions of insects rising simultaneously look like approaching thunderstorms.