Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about MAYFLY!
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 .