Slide a matching black Cyclops bead onto the Tiemco 2499SP-BL and start the brown Veevus 8/0 behind it, laying a thread base only about a bead's length back down the shank. That short patch is the whole working area for this fly.
Melt the tip of the olive Pearl Core Braid slowly, then hit it with your finger and roll it into a neat tapered end.
Measure the braid about one shank length, not counting the bead, and tie it in as a butt at the back of the working area so the tapered end hangs off the back of the hook. Lift the braid forward, take a few tight wraps in front of it and then again right on top of it, then trim the excess and tidy the front.
Trim a thin strip of mottled brown Medallion Sheeting, cut it into a triangle and trim the tip to a mostly rounded wing pad. Tie one in on each side of the hook so the tips just barely reach back and touch the bend; it does not have to be perfect, as it crumples together once it is tied in.
Peel two fibers from a natural mallard flank feather and tie them in at the wing pads as antennae, a little longer than the body, leaving a space between them so the two fibers stay distinctly separated. Trim the butt ends.
Take a natural brown India hen back feather with a nicely rounded tip, trim a notch out of the tip, and strip back the fluff to expose a dozen or so fibers. Slide the notch over the shank so the fibers straddle each side, pinch it into place and hold it with a loose wrap of thread.
Add a small bump of olive brown Ice Dub at the back of the head to push the legs apart. A gentle tug on the legs settles them where you want them, then lay a tighter wrap over to lock them in, trim the leg butts and cover them with a couple of wraps.
Wax the thread and dub a tight sparse noodle of the same olive brown Ice Dub, enough for a couple of turns only, lay it down right behind the bead and whip finish.