The mayfly, a short-lived but 300 million year old insect

His life has become legendary. Because what is more romantic than a love that only lasts a day? The reality of the life of mayflies is more prosaic. While it is true that, once adults, these winged insects as light as a penny only have a few moments to live, it still goes from a few minutes to a few days depending on the individual. And before their reproduction period, the larvae can spend up to ten years underwater. Because as much as the adult mayfly is an aerial creature, the naiads are exclusively aquatic. And these larvae have plenty to do. First, feed on all the organic debris that passes within their reach. And moult, up to twenty times for some species during these months underwater. Nothing to do, therefore, with adult life when, barely out of the water, the insect moults very quickly twice to reach sexual maturity.

Thin and translucent

Since love does not wait, adult mayflies meet and mate in mid-flight. Above rivers in good condition and without pollution, these clouds of fine translucent creatures unfold. Some females even go so far as to go upstream to lay their eggs at its source. These insects from the immense Baetidae family constitute an essential elementary link in the food chain for many other species, both as larvae in the water and as adults in the air. And this has been going on for at least 300 million years, since these insects have barely evolved since their distant ancestors. For mayflies, one day rhymes with forever.