Ephemeroptera
MAYFLIES; CADISFLIES
Life   Insecta

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Ephemeroptera
© John Pickering, 2004-2023 · 0
Ephemeroptera
IDnature guides
Kinds

Overview Click
here for Mayfly checklist in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Mayflies are one of the most important herbiverous invertebrate aquatic insects. They are insects of moderate size with an incomplete metamorphosis. The immature stage is aquatic and the adult stage is very brief. Nymphs are adapted to diverse aquatic environments (Needham 1935). The key function of the adult is reproduction and dispersal. They do not feed and only live from 1-2 hours to 14 days at most (Elliott and Humpesch 1983).

The oldest living winged insects, dating "from the Carboniferous and Permian times," mayflies are one of the most important herbiverous invertebrate aquatic insects (Earthlife World of Insects). They are insects of moderate size with an incomplete metamorphosis. The immature stage is aquatic and the adult stage is very brief. Nymphs are adapted to diverse aquatic environments (needham 1935). Unlike the adults, their antennae are long and their mouthparts are functioning. The nymph can live anywhere from 3-4 weeks or up to 2.5 years before it transforms into a subimago. The presence of the subimago and the fact that mayflies "hold their wings pointing straight up" all of the time, both being only characteristic of mayflies, make this order of insects unique. -- (Earthlife World of Insects)

Identification Immatures

  1. Antennae short and bristle-like
  2. Four to nine pairs of leaf-like or fan-like gills along the sides of the abdomen
  3. Three long filaments at rear of abdomen
Adults
  1. Antennae short and bristle-like
  2. Front legs long and often held out in front of body
  3. Compound eyes large, usually covering most of the head
  4. Wings: four membranous wings with many veins and crossveins
  5. Abdomen slender, bearing two (or sometimes three) long terminal filaments
This information is from N.C. State University's Entomology Dept.

Phylogeny

Taxonomic Category Scientific Name Common Name
Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods
Class Insecta Insects
Order Ephemeroptera Mayflies



Photographs




mass swarming picture
Photo copyright Photos by Istvan Turcsanyi, L. Kossuth University, Debrecen, Hungary

[Species:Heptagenia sulphurea imago]
Photo copyright by Peter Maihofer, Gmund.

Mayfly nymph
Photo copyright by Peter Maihofer, Gmund.



Geographic distribution Mayflies are found in freshwater habitats of all of North America as well as worldwide (Needham 1935). There are 2000 species, 200 genera, and 19 families of mayflies (Elliott and Humpesch 1983).
North America Worldwide
Number of Families 17 19
Number of Species 611 2000

This table is from N.C. State University's Entomology Dept.


Natural history Life History & Ecology: Economic Importance: