Mayfly adult newly emerged.

I have always found insects fascinating. The ones I find myself most drawn to are those that live in aquatic environments. These include insect orders like the dragonflies, true bugs, stoneflies, beetles, and mayflies. They can be found in almost all wetland and river systems and form an integral part of food webs both in and out of the water.

Mayflies belong to the insect order Ephemeroptera; the root word here is ephemeral and relates to the very short time the adults live after hatching from their nymph (aquatic) form. Unique among the insects, the adults go through a second molt in the process of becoming sexually mature. Many of the mayflies in British Columbia, where I found this one, have two tails but the more frequent number is three globally.

I found this mature adult on the bank of the Vedder River near Chilliwack, BC. It was resting on a rock preparing to find a mate. They live only for a matter of hours after emerging from their final molt. I found this particular species interesting because of the enormous eyes it sports and the small size of the second pair of wings. The two tails also made it of interest to me as the ones I knew in Alberta and Ontario were of the three-tailed variety.

Mayflies often hatch (emerge from the water) in large numbers over a short window of time. As a result, the adults are not seen all that often. The nymphs are easy enough to find; turn over any rock in a stream and you will probably see a number of them scurrying away from the light and air. They can be found in stagnant water bodies as well, but are most often associated with clean, fast-moving streams.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen

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