Mayfly ordinary - born for a beautiful night-long flight

Mayflies are ancient winged insects, the remains of which are found in fossils of the Devonian period. Found and described more than 3 thousand species. The squad received its name for the short-term life of an imago. Depending on the species, adults are active from several hours to 4-5 days. They do not eat, only fly in large swarms. In a short life, insects manage to mate and lay eggs. Mayfly ordinary is one of the largest representatives of the family. Real fishermen know that their larvae provide a good nibble.

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Common Mayfly (Ephemeravulgate) belongs to the family of real mayflies, numbering 150 species. The length of the imago is 15-21 mm, on the abdomen there are three tail threads, adding another 10-15 mm. The body consists of three departments: head, chest, abdomen. Most of the head is occupied by round faceted eyes, the antennae are short, and the oral apparatus is absent. In males, the eyes are significantly larger than in females and are divided into two halves.

Information. Adults do not feed, their intestines are filled with air, providing ease of flight. Due to the lack of feeding, the digestive canal ceased to secrete enzymes and assumed the function of an air bubble.

Adults have two pairs of thin transparent wings. The fragile structure is damaged by any touch. The front wings are well developed, their length corresponds to the size of the body. The back pair is 2 times shorter. The venation pattern and dark spots are clearly visible on the wings; the wingspan reaches 45 mm.

The muscles of the wings are located in the middle segment of the chest, which is noticeably swollen. The abdomen is thin, elongated, tinted. At the top of each segment are dark triangles. Three pairs of thin long limbs are too weak to walk.

Information. From other winged insects, the mayfly is distinguished by the presence of two flying stages - subimago and imago. Subimago is distinguished by opaque opaque wings, the insect needs another molt to turn into an imago.

Larvae

Offspring of mayflies are not like adults. The body of the larva is slender with a long abdomen, consisting of 10 segments. On the last segment are three threads used as fin. Swimming hairs grow on the caudal threads. On the sides of the abdomen are moving appendages - gill leaves. There are a pair of compound eyes and three simple eyes. The mouth apparatus is gnawing. The rudiments of the wings are directed back. The limbs are fit for digging. The larvae of males externally differ from females in several ways:

• large faceted eyes;
• on the 9th abdominal abrasion there are rudiments of gonostyles.

Lifestyle & Habitats

Mayfly common everywhere, except Australia, Oceania and Antarctica. Her life is closely connected with water. Amphibiotic insects at the preimaginal stage develop in ponds, streams, rivers, lakes. Larvae live 2-3 years, and adults one day. The webbed mesh wings of adults do not fold along the body, but keep the house behind. In Europe, representatives of the species Ephemeravulgate begin years in late May - June. The summer season lasts until August.In the evenings, a blizzard of winged insects begins in various coastal areas.

At the same time, hundreds or thousands of insects appear above the reservoir and coastal meadows. A few hours later, most of them fall into the water dead, goes to feed the fish. At a feast that occurs annually at the same time, carnivorous representatives of the reservoir gather. The fish are eaten away by insects, and the biting stops for a few days.

Propagation Features

The mass departure of the mayfly resembles a snowstorm. Many winged insects swarm and swirl in the air. Males perform a kind of mating dance to attract partners. Long tail threads act as a parachute when repeatedly raised up and down in one place. Three to four males compete for the female. One manages to fly up from below, holding his partner's front legs by the chest, he is attached with genital forceps to the abdomen.

In the process of fertilization, only the female keeps the couple on the fly. Mating lasts a few seconds. Passing the spermatophore to the partner, the male detaches and falls dead into the water. The female hurries to lay eggs in the water, she immerses the edge of the abdomen in the pond. Mayflies are surprisingly prolific, laying 5-10 thousand eggs. Only a small part of the masonry, which sank to the bottom, turns into larvae, the rest is eaten by fish and other predatory inhabitants of the reservoirs.

Mayfly development

Small larvae of the first age appear from the eggs. On their heads there is a growth with a deep notch, the antennae are covered with hairs. Paired ties are the organ of touch. The oral apparatus consists of the upper lip, serrated mandibles and a hole directed downward. After birth, the larvae do not have tracheal gills; they appear after molting. On the oblong abdomen there are 7 pairs of tergalia (tracheal gills). The middle segment of the chest is larger than the rest; it carries the beginnings of wings.

Tail filaments consist of a small number of segments. By way of life, they belong to the group of digging forms. Larvae with strong flattened limbs dig passages in the muddy bottom of water bodies. Abdominal gills in the form of thin plates are used to create the movement of water inside the hole. Oxygen and food particles are brought in with the stream. Larvae hunt and feed on decaying residues.

The development of the offspring of common mayfly takes two years. The number of links is not exactly known, at least 20. With each metamorphosis, the offspring become more like adults. Burrowing forms lead a secretive lifestyle, they are difficult to detect. Clay banks of rivers are cut by holes of larvae. They often crawl aquatic invertebrates, which become the prey of predatory mayflies.

Information. Mayfly larvae live in clean or slightly contaminated water. If heavy metals and other harmful wastes enter the reservoir, insects die. Pollution of ponds and lakes by industrial discharges leads to a reduction in the number of species.

The first imaginal phase is called the subimago. Metamorphosis does not occur in water, but on land among vegetation. Both imaginal stages are equal in size, similar in appearance. You can distinguish them by the smallest hairs on the body. The pubescence on the wings of the subimago makes it matte; in the imago, the wings are transparent. The penultimate insects fly poorly. They are kept in shelters near a reservoir. After a few hours, they molt one last time and turn into an adult sexually mature mayfly.

The use of mayfly when fishing

Like bloodworms, mayfly is an excellent bait for fish. Carp, roach, bream, perch, and trout are caught on it. For fishing, older mayfly larvae are used, called “grandmothers”. Store bait with a scoop or wash bucket with a net. The device is thrown into the water and, together with silt, dragged ashore. Having removed the sludge, larvae are collected. Store them in a bowl of water. The dead adult mayflies are collected and used to feed the fish.