Have you ever seen a mass emergence of this insect? Were you able to identify it?
If you guessed MAYFLY, you are correct!
Mayflies, which have been around since BEFORE the dinosaurs, 350 million years ago! start their lives in the water, as eggs. Their presence in a pond, lake or stream indicates clean water.
They will live in the water as a nymph for up to 3 years before emerging from their nymphal case as an adult with wings. Then, their life is short–sometimes SUPER short, as they will live 2 minutes to up to 2 days. Imagine living as a adult only One day! We are so lucky in comparison! Their sole purpose as adults is to mate, and if female, lay eggs. As adults, they have no functional mouthparts so do not eat. As nymphs in the water they feed on algae.
Sometimes many will emerge all at once, thus ensuring that some will survive long enough for their eggs to survive. They are an important source of food for many animals, including fish, frogs, salamanders, and birds.
