Mayflies belong to the order Ephemeroptera and are aquatic insects. This order entails ancient species of insects referred to as the Palaeoptera, which also comprises damselflies and dragonflies. Mayflies are also known as fish flies or shad flies in Canada, Canadian soldiers in the US, and up-winged flies in the UK.
Interesting Facts about Mayfly
- Although the name suggests otherwise, mayflies are not flies. These aquatic insects are a source of food for reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish.
- These insects belong to the order Ephemeroptera, which refers to “short-lived.” They are known for extremely short lifespans—some species (adults) even die a few minutes or hours after emerging from the water.
- Mayfly is an ancient species—it is one of the earliest insects to appear on Earth and dates to over 350 million years.
- Mayflies are a good indicator of good water quality since their naiads’ gills are vulnerable to polluted waters. Large numbers of mayflies hatching near a water body is a reassurance of an environmentally sound habitat.
Very interesting.
One day I was driving along on the south side of mille lacs lake in Minnesota and I saw ahead of me what I thought was a low-hanging rain cloud. It was Mayflies so thick it was like driving in a dense fog. Had to stop and wait for the cloud to pass which took about 20 minutes. I used a windshield scraper to remove them from the radiator. What a mess! Birds were flying around in the cloud gorging on the insects.