Mayflies

Mrs. Grayson's class had a question about mayfly's so I did a little research and this is what I discovered. Thought maybe Millerville might like to hear about mayflies too.  There are 2500 different species of mayfly worldwide and many live in Montana. I did find a couple of photos of mayflies that live in Montana. Did you know that fly fisherman like to make copies of mayfly's because the trout love to eat them?  I learned that the eggs (of some species) may lay unhatched for months, sometimes close to a year but, some mayfly eggs hatch the same day they are laid. The eggs are layed on the surface of the water in a river or stream and sink to the bottom where they will hatch into naiads, also called nymphs. Naiads live in streams under rocks, decaying vegetation or in the sediment (dirt). They like to eat algae. The naiaid may moult 20-30 times before it becomes an adult, this can take several months to as long as several years. All mayfly naiads have seven pairs of gills on the bottom of their abdomens, they need gills because they spend all thier time in the stream. Mayflies are the only insect species that will moult after it has wings. This stage is called the subimago and may last for only a few minutes to a day before they moult again into thier final adult form. A subimago cannot fly very well and is not as colorful as an adult. When the mayfly reaches it's adult form, it may live (depending upon the species again) as long as a couple of days to as short as 30 minutes. Imagine being an adult for only 30 minutes! Adults do not eat, they mate, lay eggs and then die. Because it has such a short life span, sometimes the mayfly is called the "one-day fly". Photos: 1. mayfly 2. naiad, nymph 3. mayfly from Rock Creek, Montana 4. mayfly from Polson, Montana 5. Brown Dun nymph 6. Brown Dun nymph 7. Male spinner I hope you find this interesting, Rachel Hanko