Alainites muticus/Nigrobaëtis niger - Iron Blue

Nigrobaëtis niger (formerly classified as Nigrobaëtis niger) and Alainites muticus (formerly classified as Baëtis muticus) are very similar and share the common name of the Iron Blue. The iron blue dun is much darker than any of the other common upwinged flies. Its nymph is an agile darter and occurs on chalk streams, spate rivers and fast-flowing brooks.

The dun

The dun emerges at the surface in open water, and hatches can be fairly dense even on sunny spring days. Specific imitations have been devised, but a general pattern is often acceptable in the rough and tumble of a spring river.

The spinner

Iron blue spinners lays their eggs in the afternoon, and so they are useful flies to imitate. The differences between the sexes are quite marked. The female (above) is sometimes called the Little Claret Spinner, while the male (shown below) is the Jenny Spinner.

Special Offer - author-signed copies: £14-00 + £2-00 P&P = £16
	Signed copies of Matching the Hatch - Pat O'Reilly's best selling 245-page full colour book on aquatic flies and their imitation - are available by print-and-post form or by  Credit Card or Debit Card via the PayPal Secure Server for just £16 including P&P.

Top of page...