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Mayfly | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Mayfly

InsectaClean streams, rivers and lakes as nymphs; the air and streamside vegetation as adults

Field profile

Mayflies are soft-bodied insects with large triangular forewings held upright at rest and two or three long tail filaments. Nymphs live in fresh water for months to years and are sensitive to pollution. Adults do not feed and survive from a few hours to a few days.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-03-18

Mayfly

Mayflies moult again after they can already fly

Every other insect stops moulting once it has functional wings. Mayflies do not. They emerge from the water as a dull-winged subimago, fly to streamside vegetation, and shed a complete skin, wings included, to become the shining adult.

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