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EPHEMEROPTERA
Characteristics
[Latest
Classification]
Description Ephemeroptera is derived from the Greek ephemeros = "short-lived", pteron = "wing", referring to the brief lifespan of
adults. Sometimes they are grouped with the ancient Palaeoptera, which also
includes dragonflies and damselflies. All are aquatic with immature stages
naiads or nymphs. Development is
usually one year in freshwater. The adults do not live very long, ranging
from only a few minutes to a few days. About 2,510 species hve been
identified, including about 632 species in North America. Ther common nmes
also include "dayfly", "shadfly", "Green Bay
flies", "lake fly", "fishfly." The eggs are deposited
onto the surface of lakes or streams, from which they sink to the benthos.
Naiads may molt 20-32 times over a few months up to year. The naiads live
primarily in streams under rocks, decaying vegetation, or in bottom sediment.
The few species that live in lakes are very prolific, numbering in the
millions The primary food is
algae or diatoms, but there are also some predatory species. The naiad stage
may take from several months up to several years. Naiads are distinctive in
that most have seven pairs of gills on the dorsum of the abdomen. They also
frequently possess three long cerci or tails at the end of their abdomen.
Some species, such as the genus Epeorus, have only two tails. They are
hemimetabolous insects. Mayflies are unique among the winged insects in that
they molt one more time after acquiring functional wings stage. The duration
of the second-to-last winged instar, or subimago, only lasts a few minutes.
This stage is a primary food source for fish. The lifespan of an adult
mayfly may vary from 30 minutes to one day. The primary function of the adult
is reproduction; the mouthparts are vestigial, and the digestive system is
filled with air. The wings are membranous (similar to a house fly's wings but
with many more veins) and are held upright like those of a butterfly. The
forewings are much larger than the hind wings. In most species, the males' eyes
are usually large and the front legs unusually long, for use in locating and
grasping females during mid-air mating. In some species, all legs aside from
the males' front legs are useless. The wings are
membranous, and have many veins. They are held upright like those of a
butterfly. The hindwings are smaller than the forewings, and may be
vestigial, or absent. The second segment of the thorax, which bears the
forewings, is enlarged, holding the main flight muscles. Adults also have short,
flexible antennae, large compound eyes and three ocelli. The male's eyes are
large and the front legs unusually long, In some species, all other legs are
not used. Mayflies possess paired
genitalia, with the male having two penises and the female two gonopores. The
abdomen is mostly cylindrical, with 10 segments and two cerci. Mayflies in a population
often mature at one time and for a day or two in the spring or autumn, they
are very abundant. This usually occurs in early summer. = = = = = = = = = = References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Berner, L.
& M. L. Pescador. 1988. The
mayflies of Florida. University Press of Florida, Tallahassee. Burks, B. D. 1953.
"The mayflies, or Ephemeroptera, of Illinois". Bulletin of the
Illinois Natural History Museum 26: 1–216. Edmunds, G. F.
Jr., S. L. Jensen & L. Berner. 1976. The mayflies of North and Central America. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816607591. Hoell, H.V.,
Doyen, J.T. & Purcell, A.H. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and
Diversity, 2nd ed.. Oxford University Press. p. 320. McCafferty, W. P.
1991. "Comparison of old and new world Acanthametropus
(Ephemeroptera: Acanthametretopodidae) and other psammophilous
mayflies". Entomological News 102: 205–214. McCafferty, W. P.
1994. "Distributional and classificatory supplement to the burrowing
mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeroidea) of the United States". Entomological
News 105: 1–13. McCafferty, W. P.
1996. "The Ephemeroptera species of North America and index to their
complete nomenclature". Transactions of the American Entomological
Society 122 issue=1 (1): 1–54. McCafferty, W. P.
2001. "The gentle quest: 200 years in search of North American
mayflies". In E. Dominguez. Trends in Research in Ephemeroptera and
Plecoptera. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. pp. 21–35. McCafferty, W. P.,
R. S. Durfee & B. C. Kondratieff. 1997. "Colorado mayflies: an annotated inventory". The
Southwestern Naturalist (Southwestern Association of Naturalists) 38 (3):
252–274. doi:10.2307/3671431. McCafferty, W. P.,
T. Hubbard, T. H. Klubertanz, R. P. Randolph & M. Birmingham. 2003.
"Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) of the Great Plains. II: Iowa". Transactions
of the American Entomological Society 129 (1): 77–105. Needham, J.
G., J. R. Traver & Y. C. Hsu.
1935. The Biology of Mayflies. Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca, New York. Pardo, D. &
B.G. Waleye. 1909. May flies land in your soup.
Nositch Publishing Co., Peoria, Illinois. Randolph, R. P.
& W. P. McCafferty. 1998. "Diversity and distribution of the
mayflies (Ephemeroptera) from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio,
and Wisconsin". Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin NS13 (1): vii +
188pp. Randolph, R. P.
& W. P. McCafferty. 2001. "New species and records of the mayflies
(Insecta) from Mexico". Dugesiana 8: 15–21. |