Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera (from the Greek ephemeros = "short-lived", pteron = "wing", referring to the short life span of adults).
They have been placed into an 
They are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called naiad or, colloquially, nymph) usually lasts one year in fresh water.
The adults are short-lived, from a few hours to a few days depending on the species.
About 2,500 species are known worldwide, including about 630 species in North America.
Common names for mayflies include "dayfly", "shadfly", "Canadian soldier", and "fishfly" [1].
This means if mayflies are in or around the water, the water should be good quality, perhaps even good enough to drink without distilling or boiling.
They live many months at the bottom of a stream, but they molt - or change - into a short-lived adult.
They are soft bodied, and of relatively large size (on the order to 1-3 centimeters in length).
The adult stage of the mayfly's life is very short; often as short as a few hours.
Each species takes cues from the environment in order to emerge simultaneously, and metamorphose into adults for the express and sole purpose of mating.
In fact, most species have no formed mouth parts, as their life expectancy as adults is so short that they do not feed after emergence.
The normal time of emergence is in the month of May in most temperate climates (hence the name), and the animals tend to emerge at dusk.
They reproduce while flying (most of the time), and after mating females will fall to the water to lay their eggs.
The scene either on or near lakes after an emergence and mating event is true carnage; bodies often cover nearly every square meter of the surface.
Their only assignment is to mate and lay eggs, so most individuals live just a few hours. Fortunate individuals live a few days
Vodaphone:
“The common mayfly has a life expectancy of just one day. But is he miserable about it? Not one bit. He fills his day with the things he loves. He soars. He swoops. He savours every moment. Maybe there’s a lesson in this for us longer living creatures. Just think. If we embrace life like a mayfly, what a life that would be! Vodafone! Make the most of now.”
Information reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Mayfly
http://mdc.mo.gov/kids/out-in/1997/3/5.html
Picture references:
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/109/Insect%20rearing/photos/mayfly%20adult.jpg
http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/blake/mayfly.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Eintagsfliege_fg01.jpg
6 comments:
Mayflys are very interesting insects, though no one pays much attention to them, till now.
Oh, and i think the research your doing on them is really good.
what a comprehensive post!
impressive once again.
8>)
thats cool...
I have a new blog called snow...
Cool! thanks! il check it out!
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