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'''Mayflies''' or '''shadflies''' are [[insect]]s belonging to the [[order (biology)|order]] '''Ephemeroptera''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''εφήμερος'', ''{{lang|el|ephemeros}}'' = "short-lived" (literally "lasting a day" "daily" or "day-long"), and ''πτερόν'', ''{{lang|el|pteron}}'' = "[[insect wing|wing]]", referring to the brief lifespan of adults). They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the [[Palaeoptera]], which also contains [[Dragonfly|dragonflies]] and [[Damselfly|damselflies]]. They are [[aquatic insects]] whose immature stage (called "naiad" or, colloquially, "[[nymph (biology)|nymph]]") usually lasts one year in [[fresh water]]. The adults are short-lived, from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species. The ''[[Dolania americana]]'' has the shortest lifespan among ''Ephemeroptera''; the adult females of the species only live for less than five minutes.<ref name="entn_Chap">{{Cite web| title = Chapter 37: Shortest Reproductive Life| author = Craig H. Welch| work = Book of Insect Records| publisher = University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences| date = 17 April 1998| accessdate = 4 April 1998| url = http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/walker/ufbir/chapters/chapter_37.shtml}}</ref> About 2,500 species are known worldwide, including about 630 species in [[North America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/ephemeroptera.html|title=CSIRO page for Ephemeroptera}} - accessed 28 August 2008</ref> The naiads live primarily in streams under rocks, decaying vegetation, or in the sediment. Few species live in lakes, but they are among the most prolific. For example, the emergence of one species of ''Hexagenia'' was recorded on [[Doppler weather radar]] along the shores of [[Lake Erie]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/publications/fs/Mayfly_12-2003.pdf |title=Return of the mayfly: an indicator of an improving habitat |publisher=Pennsylvania Sea Grant |year=2003}}{{dead link|date=October 2013}}</ref>
'''Mayflies''' or '''shadflies''' are [[insect]]s belonging to the [[order (biology)|order]] '''Ephemeroptera''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''εφήμερος'', ''{{lang|el|ephemeros}}'' = "short-lived" (literally "lasting a day" "daily" or "day-long"), and ''πτερόν'', ''{{lang|el|pteron}}'' = "[[insect wing|wing]]", referring to the brief lifespan of adults). They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the [[Palaeoptera]], which also contains [[Dragonfly|dragonflies]] and [[Damselfly|damselflies]]. They are [[aquatic insects]] whose immature stage (called "naiad" or, colloquially, "[[nymph (biology)|nymph]]") usually lasts one year in [[fresh water]]. The adults are short-lived, from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species. The ''[[Dolania americana]]'' has the shortest lifespan among ''Ephemeroptera''; the adult females of the species only live for less than five minutes.<ref name="entn_Chap">{{Cite web| title = Chapter 37: Shortest Reproductive Life| author = Craig H. Welch| work = Book of Insect Records| publisher = University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences| date = 17 April 1998| accessdate = 4 April 1998| url = http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/walker/ufbir/chapters/chapter_37.shtml}}</ref> About 2,500 species are known worldwide, including about 630 species in [[North America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/ephemeroptera.html|title=CSIRO page for Ephemeroptera}} - accessed 28 August 2008</ref> The naiads live primarily in streams under rocks, decaying vegetation, or in the sediment. Few species live in lakes, but they are among the most prolific. For example, the emergence of one species of ''Hexagenia'' was recorded on [[Doppler weather radar]] along the shores of [[Lake Erie]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/publications/fs/Mayfly_12-2003.pdf |title=Return of the mayfly: an indicator of an improving habitat |publisher=Pennsylvania Sea Grant |year=2003|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927230149/http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/publications/fs/Mayfly_12-2003.pdf|archivedate=2012-02-25|accessdate=2015-05-30|deadurl=yes}}</ref>


Most species feed on algae or diatoms, but a few species are [[Predation|predatory]]. The naiad stage may last from several months to several years, with a number of [[ecdysis|moults]] along the way. Most mayfly naiads are distinctive in having seven pairs of [[gill]]s on the [[dorsum (biology)|dorsum]] of the [[abdomen]]. In addition, most possess three long [[cercus|cerci]] or tails at the end of their bodies. Some species, notably in the genus ''Epeorus'', have only two tails. In the last aquatic stage, dark wingpads are visible. Developmentally, these insects are considered [[hemimetabolism|hemimetabolous]]. A more casual and familiar term is "incomplete [[metamorphosis]]". Mayflies are unique among insects in that they moult one more time after acquiring functional wings (this is also known as the [[alate]] stage); this last-but-one winged instar usually lives a very short time, often a matter of hours, and is known as a subimago or to fly fishermen as a dun. Mayflies in this stage are a favourite food of many fish, and many [[artificial fly|fishing flies]] are modelled to resemble them.
Most species feed on algae or diatoms, but a few species are [[Predation|predatory]]. The naiad stage may last from several months to several years, with a number of [[ecdysis|moults]] along the way. Most mayfly naiads are distinctive in having seven pairs of [[gill]]s on the [[dorsum (biology)|dorsum]] of the [[abdomen]]. In addition, most possess three long [[cercus|cerci]] or tails at the end of their bodies. Some species, notably in the genus ''Epeorus'', have only two tails. In the last aquatic stage, dark wingpads are visible. Developmentally, these insects are considered [[hemimetabolism|hemimetabolous]]. A more casual and familiar term is "incomplete [[metamorphosis]]". Mayflies are unique among insects in that they moult one more time after acquiring functional wings (this is also known as the [[alate]] stage); this last-but-one winged instar usually lives a very short time, often a matter of hours, and is known as a subimago or to fly fishermen as a dun. Mayflies in this stage are a favourite food of many fish, and many [[artificial fly|fishing flies]] are modelled to resemble them.

Revision as of 03:16, 30 May 2015

For other uses, see Mayfly (disambiguation).

Mayfly
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous-Recent[1]
Rhithrogena germanica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Division: Palaeoptera
Superorder: Ephemeropteroidea
Rohdendorf, 1968
Order: Ephemeroptera
Hyatt & Arms, 1891

Mayflies or shadflies are

Doppler weather radar along the shores of Lake Erie.[4]

Most species feed on algae or diatoms, but a few species are

dorsum of the abdomen. In addition, most possess three long cerci or tails at the end of their bodies. Some species, notably in the genus Epeorus, have only two tails. In the last aquatic stage, dark wingpads are visible. Developmentally, these insects are considered hemimetabolous. A more casual and familiar term is "incomplete metamorphosis". Mayflies are unique among insects in that they moult one more time after acquiring functional wings (this is also known as the alate stage); this last-but-one winged instar usually lives a very short time, often a matter of hours, and is known as a subimago or to fly fishermen as a dun. Mayflies in this stage are a favourite food of many fish, and many fishing flies
are modelled to resemble them.

Adult

Adult Atalophlebia

The lifespan of an adult mayfly is very short and varies depending on the species. The primary function of the adult is reproduction; the mouthparts are vestigial, and the digestive system is filled with air.

The wings are membranous, with extensive

thorax
, which bears the forewings, is enlarged, holding the main flight muscles.

Adults have short, flexible

aedeagi (penis-like organs) and the female two gonopores. The abdomen is roughly cylindrical, with 10 segments and two long cerci at the tip.[1]

Subimago

Male subimago of Baetis tricaudatus

The final molt of the naiad is not to the full adult form, but to a winged subimago that physically resembles the adult, but which is usually sexually immature. The subimagos are generally poor fliers, and typically lack the coloration patterns used to attract mates. The subimago eventually moults to the full adult, making mayflies the only insects where a winged form undergoes moulting.

Like the adult, the subimago stage does not last for long, rarely for more than 24 hours. In some species, it may last for just a few minutes, while the mayflies in the family Palingenidae have sexually mature subimagos and no true adult form at all.[1]

Lifespan

Mayflies (known locally as shadflies) briefly in enormous numbers in Ontario

Because of the short lifespan of the highly visible, winged adult form, the mayfly is called "one-day" or "one-day fly" in some languages — German Eintagsfliege, Dutch eendagsvlieg, Slovenian enodnevnica, Swedish dagslända, Danish and Norwegian døgnflue, Polish jętka jednodniówka, Latvian viendienītes, Finnish päivänkorento, Hebrew בַּריוֹם, Turkish birgün sineği, Russian подёнка, Bulgarian еднодневка, and Greek εφήμερος. The Greek name, transliterated ephḗmeros (Greek pronunciation: [eˈfimeɾos]), is the origin of the names in Romance languages: French éphémère, Italian effimera, Portuguese efêmera, Spanish efímera, and Romanian efemeride. In Korean, the designation is harusari (하루살이목).

Often, all the mayflies in a population mature at once (a hatch), and for a day or two in the spring or fall, mayflies will be everywhere, dancing around each other in large groups, or resting on every available surface. The hatch of the giant mayfly

Maros (Mureș) River and the Tisza River in Serbia and Hungary, known as "Tisza blooming", is a tourist attraction.[5] In regions of New Guinea and Africa
, mayflies are eaten when they emerge en masse.

Conservation

The status of most species of mayflies is unknown because many species are known from only the original collection data. Four North American species are believed to be extinct, two of which are listed below:

  • Ephemera compar was reported from the "foothills of Colorado". Despite intensive surveys of the Colorado mayflies, this species has not been collected in the past 50 years.[when?]

The

Tasmanophlebi lacuscoerulei, the large blue lake mayfly, which is a native of Australia and is listed as endangered.[6]

Classification

Suborder Schistonota
Suborder Pannota

Fossil record and evolution

Mayflies are a very old group of pterygote insects. Putative fossil stem group representatives (e.g. Syntonopteroidea like Lithoneura lameerrei) are already known from the late

Washington State.[10]

In human culture

Detail of "mayfly" in lower right corner of Albrecht Dürer's engraving The Holy Family with the Mayfly, 1495

Albrecht Dürer made an engraving called (amongst other names) The Holy Family with the Mayfly.[11] The critics Larry Silver and Pamela H. Smith propose that the image provides "an explicit link between heaven and earth .. to suggest a cosmic resonance between sacred and profane, celestial and terrestrial, macrocosm and microcosm."[12]

The English poet George Crabbe, known to have been interested in insects,[13] compared the brief life of a newspaper with that of mayflies, both being known as "Ephemera",[14] things that live for a day:[15]

In shoals the hours their constant numbers bring,
Like insects waking to th' advancing spring;
Which take their rise from grubs obscene that lie
In shallow pools, or thence ascend the sky:
Such are these base ephemeras, so born
To die before the next revolving morn.

— George Crabbe, "The Newspaper", 1785

The mayfly has come to symbolise the transitoriness and brevity of life.[16]

See also

  • Ephemeral

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-19-510033-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "IIBD" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page
    ).
  2. ^ Craig H. Welch (17 April 1998). "Chapter 37: Shortest Reproductive Life". Book of Insect Records. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 4 April 1998. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "CSIRO page for Ephemeroptera". - accessed 28 August 2008
  4. ^ "Return of the mayfly: an indicator of an improving habitat" (PDF). Pennsylvania Sea Grant. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2015-05-30. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2007-09-27 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Riverfly: Teifi Rivers Invertebrate Monitors: Europe's largest mayfly".
  6. ^ Suter, P. 2014. Tasmanophlebi lacuscoerulei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. Downloaded on 30 August 2014.
  7. doi:10.1163/187631211X578406.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  8. ISBN 0-8047-2001-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  9. ^ Makarkin, V. N.; Archibald, S. B. (2009). "A new genus and first Cenozoic fossil record of moth lacewings (Neuroptera: Ithonidae) from the Early Eocene of North America" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2063: 55–63.
  10. ^ Sinitchenkova, N. D. (1999). "A new mayfly species of the extant genus Neoephemera from the Eocene of North America (Insecta: Ephemerida = Ephemeroptera: Neoephemeridae)" (PDF). Paleontological Journal. 33 (4): 403–405.
  11. ^ "The Holy Family with the Mayfly 1495/1496". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  12. ISBN 978-1-135-30035-7
    .
  13. ISBN 978-1-134-78243-7
    .
  14. ^ "Ephemera". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  15. ^ Crabbe, George. "The Village and The Newspaper by George Crabbe". Gutenberg.org. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  16. ^ Kreiger, Georgia (2 August 2012). "Mayfly". Hippocampus Magazine. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)

Scientific literature

  • W. P. McCafferty (1991). "Comparison of old and new world Acanthametropus (Ephemeroptera: Acanthametretopodidae) and other psammophilous mayflies".
    Entomological News
    . 102: 205–214.
  • J. G. Needham, J. R. Traver & Y. C. Hsu (1935). The Biology of Mayflies. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Co.
    ISBN 0-900848-06-5
    .

North America

Popular sources

  • Christopher O'Toole (2002). Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders. Toronto: Firefly Books.
    OCLC 49602322
    .

External links

Wikispecies has information related to Ephemeroptera.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "May-fly".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ephemeroptera.
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