Ephemeroptera
rss Can you identify?
This bug landed on the outside of my office window a while back and I’ve saved the picture ever since hoping to find out what it was. I’ve never seen a bug quite like this. Any ideas?
Jenn
Hi Jenn,
Even though this is a Mayfly, they appear in other months as well.
What is this bug?
Good Day,
Love the site… great fun for a fly tier like
myself! A friend from Singapore found many of the following insect on a resevoir there and wondered what is was… any ideas? Thanks!
Christopher
Hi Christopher,
This is some type of Homopteran, we believe. We are still checking though. Eric Eaton came to the rescue: ” Wondering now if the Homopteran from Singapore might actually be some kind of mayfly. Looks like it might have had two tails that broke off, and at least some mayflies have only one pair of wings, which this insect seems to have. Lastly, the fact that it was found by a fly fisherman floating in a reservoir just about seals the deal”
Update: (11/02/2007)
Hi guys… Hi there,
LOL, this is indeed a mayfly and not a Homopteran. This species has very short tail (not broken) but similar species up north (Malaysia and Thailand) do have longish tails. I have read elsewhere that identification is in order. This species burrow and feed on drift wood , the aquatic nymphs are favourite food for many types of fishes found in the reservoirs. I have seen the females ascending from sky in the morning and land on the water, and start fluttering (more like vibrating and sending ripples) its wing and dragging the egg sack attach via a strong silk like stuff to the end of the tail. It will keep fluttering until it attaches the egg sack to any structure dotting the shorelines and die there. The egg sag will absorb water and within days grow bulkier and look very much like frog eggs! Once the nymphs leave the clear jelly sack they start to look for drift wood to burrow and feed. Singapore is an seasonal country so this species lay eggs almost every morning with no particular peak season. I have been trying to find literature on this species to no avail for the last 2 decades. Save the short tail, they have very Mayfly like body anatomy (side fins along abs), which I therefore told my friends as much. That’s the story 
Strangely I have yet to see the hatching and mating, only the spent stage as mentioned above. Where do you think I should look for the actions? I never see any shack so far! What a mystery Mayfly…. Regards,
Yu Hock
Hi Yu Hock,
Thanks for all the valuable information on this unusual Mayfly. Sadly, we are unable to provide you with any additional information.
I was vacationing last week in Salt Creek, NY along the Wappinger Creek and took a double portrait of this bug which was resting nears it’s newly shed exoskeleton & just thought I would share.
Barry Hayman
Washington, D.C
Hi Barry,
What a wonderful photo of a newly metamorphosed Mayfly. Despite their name, Mayflies mature during other months as well. Adults only live a few days, long enough to mate..
More unidentified critters
I photographed three of these on recent trips to Arkansas and one at a local park here in Southern Cal. Hoping you could help me identify them.
Thanks
Rus
Hi Rus,
This Mayfly is one of your Arkansas critters. Mayflies belong to the Order Ephemeroptera which alludes to the fact that they only live a day, though some live several days. May is not the only month they are found. When they emerge as adults, they usually do so in great numbers. Their nymphs or naiads are aquatic. Your photo is stunning, and will result in a new page for our site.
Identification Update:
(08/01/2005) The mayfly is a male subimago of the genus Hexagenia. The nymphs are burrowers in mud and debris in clean streams and rivers. This one is related to the mayflies that occasionally form huge emergence swarms on the upper Mississippi and the Great Lakes. Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
R. Wills Flowers
Center for Biological Control
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, FL 32307
I like This