MAYFLY

Updated 04-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about MAYFLY!

Mayflies (Order Ephemeroptera): Mayflies (also known as Canadian soldiers in the United States, or shadflies or fishflies in Canada and Michigan; also up-winged flies in the United Kingdom ) are aquatic insects belonging to the order Ephemeroptera. This order is part of an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies. Over 3,000 species of mayfly are known worldwide, grouped into over 400 genera in 42 families. (Source: Wikipedia, ”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly, CC BY-SA 3.0 . Photo: (c) This Photo was taken by Böhringer Friedrich., some rights reserved (CC BY-SA))

Hampshire pub guide: The Mayfly in Fullerton: At the Mayfly you’ll find real ale, wildlife and a beautiful waterside setting. Read this pub review in our UK Pub Guide. By Wendy Miller.

March brown mayfly | Bug Directory | Buglife: Find out about the March brown mayfly in our bug directory for more fast facts about this species.

The Mayfly by Douglas Florian | Poetry Foundation: A mayfly flies

How to Survive a Massive Mayfly Swarm: Late spring and early summer there is a short-lived but massive mayfly invasion. Millions and millions of the fluttering insects rise up from the lake and into the air in thick clouds.

Insect declines: new alarm over mayfly is ‘tip of iceberg’, warn experts: Modest pollution in many English rivers is enough to kill 80% of eggs, increasing concerns over insects which are vital to all ecosystems

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: over 3,000 species of mayfly are known worldwide, grouped into over 400 genera in 42 families . their immature stages are aquatic fresh water forms (called “naiads” or “nymphs mayflies “hatch” (emerge as adults) from spring to autumn, not necessarily in May . fly fishermen use artificial fishing flies that resemble the species in question . one of the most famous english may nymphs vary in length, depending on species, from 3 to 30 mm (0.12 to 1.18 in) they may live for several years in the water . they have an elongated, cylindrical or somewhat head has a tough outer covering of sclerotin, often with various hard ridges and projections . there are two large compound eyes, three ocelli (simple eyes) and a pair of the subimago, or dun, often has partially cloudy wings fringed with minute hairs . its eyes, legs and genitalia are not fully developed . wings develop on the mesothorax subimagos are generally poor fliers and typically lack colour patterns used to attract mates . after a period, usually lasting one or two days but in some species only a few minutes, the subigo the hind wings are much smaller than the forewings and may be vestigial or absent . adults have short, flexible antennae, large compound eyes, three ocelli and non-functional mouthparts . in most species, the males’ eyes are large and the front legs unusually long . they are used in locating and grasping females during mid-air mating . in some species, all the legs are functionless mayflies possess paired genitalia, with the male having two aedeagi (penis-like organs) and the female two gonopores (sexual openings) unique among insects, mayf light intensity seems to be an important cue for emergence, but other factors may also be involved . in many species the emergence is synchronised with dawn or dusk . the soft-bodied subimagos the primary function of the adult is reproduction; adults do not feed, and have only vestigial (unusable) mouthparts, while their digestive systems are filled with air . Dolania americana has the shortest adult females typically lay between four hundred and three thousand eggs . the eggs are often dropped onto the surface of the water . females deposit them by dipping the tip of her abdomen into the water during flight . in a few species, the female submerges and places the eggs among plants or in crevices underwater . the incubation time is variable, depending at least in part on temperature . at anywhere between ten and mayflies breed in moving water, where eggs and nymphs get washed downstream . females fly upstream before depositing eggs on the water surface . hatch after 45 days and burrow into sediment where they few species live in lakes, but they are among the most prolific . the emergence of one species of Hexagenia was recorded in lake erie in 2003 . nymphs are herbivore mayfly nymphs burrow into submerged wood and can be a problem for boat owners in Asia . they transfer phosphates and nitrates to terrestrial environments when they emerge from the water bottom-dwelling mayfly nymphs feed on aquatic beetles, leeches, crayfish and amphibians . they are highly susceptible to pollution and can be useful in monitoring water bodies other nematodes turn adult male mayflies into quasi-females which haunt edges of streams . nymphs can also serve as intermediate hosts for horsehair worm Paragordius vari mayfly nymphs billow their respiratory gills once burrowing to bottom of lake . this motion creates current that carries food particles through the burrow . interlocking hairs form the filter feeding has a small impact on water purification . female mayflies may be dispersed by wind, and eggs may be transferred by waterbirds . the greatest generic diversity is found in the Neotropic ecozone Different insect species vary in their tolerance to water pollution . larval stages of mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies are susceptible to pollutants . adverse effects may be either lethal or sub-lethal pollution can cause knock-on effects to other organisms . fish that feed on mayfly nymphs that have bioaccumulated heavy metals are themselves at risk . “Modest levels” of pollution in rivers in England the status of many species of mayflies is unknown because they are known from only the original collection data . four North American species are believed to be extinct . the largest mayfly of all times may have been Bojophlebia prokopi from the Upper Carboniferous of Moravia . the name Ephemeroptera is from the Greek , ep the common name is for the insect’s emergence in or around the month of may in the uk . the name shadfly is from the Atlantic fish . from the Permian, numerous stem group representatives strange larvae and adults of the extinct family Mickoleitiidae have been described . they represent the fossil sister group of modern mayflies . oldest mayfly inclusion in amber is Cretonet the phylogeny of the Ephemeroptera was first studied using molecular analysis by Ogden and Whiting in 2005 . they recovered the Baetidae as sister to the other cla mayflies live beyond one day, owing to which it is called the hemerobius . the critics argue that the image provides an explicit link between heaven and earth . in 1495 Albrecht Dürer included the mayfly has come to symbolise the transitoriness and brevity of life . the theme of brief life is echoed in the artist Douglas Florian’s 1998 poem, “The Mayfly”. mayflies are celebrated in a monument near the Belvárosi bridge in szeged, Hungary . american playwright David Ives wrote a short comedic play, Time Flies, in 2001 “duns” (mayfly subimagos) are used as artificial flies to catch trout . the March brown is “probably the most famous of all British mayflies” it has been copied by a large swarm of mayflies caused several vehicular accidents on the Columbia–Wrightsville bridge . the bridge had to be closed to traffic twice during that period due to impaired visibility . in Malawi, kung Povilla mayflies are collected, dried and preserved for use in food preparations . they provide fisheries with an excellent diet for fish . Mayflies could find uses in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries mayflies have been used as bioindicators of water quality in ecological assessments . the mayfly larvae do not survive in polluted aquatic habitats .