Mayfly

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mayflies are in or around the water, the water Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera (from the Greek ephemeros = "short-lived", pteron = "wing", referring to the short life span of adults). They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called naiad or, colloquially, nymph) usually lasts one year in freshwater. The adults are short-lived, from a few minutes to a few days depending on the species. About 2,500 species are known worldwide, including about 630 species in North America. Common names for mayflies include "dayfly", "shadfly", "Green Bay Flies", "Canadian soldier", and "fishfly" .[1] Along the Mississippi River valley of Iowa and Illinois near the town of Nauvoo Illinois the mayfly is commonly called the "Mormon Fly." The mayfly belongs to group 1 taxa, or pollutionsensitive animals. This means if Scientific classification Kingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Subclass: Infraclass: Superorder: Order: Animalia Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Pterygota Palaeoptera (disputed) Ephemeropteroidea
Rohdendorf, 1968

should be of a good quality.[2]

Mayfly

Ephemeroptera
Hyatt & Arms, 1891

Naiads
Eggs are laid on the surface of lakes or streams, and sink to the bottom. Naiads moult 20 to 50 times over a period of a few months up to year, depending on the species.[3] The naiads live primarily in streams under rocks, decaying vegetation, or in the sediment. Few species live in lakes,

but they are among the most prolific. For example, the emergence of one species of Hexagenia was recorded on doppler radar along the shores of Lake Erie.[4] Most species feed on algae or diatoms, but there are a few predatory species. The naiad stage may last from several months to as long as several years, with a number of moults along the way. Mayfly naiads are distinctive in that most have seven pairs of gills on the dorsum of the abdomen. In addition, most possess three long cerci or tails at the end of their bodies (some species, notably in the genus Epeorus, have only two tails). In the last aquatic stage, dark wingpads are visible. Developmentally, these insects are considered hemimetabolous insects. A more casual and familiar term is incomplete metamorphosis. Mayflies are unique among the winged insects in that they moult one more time after acquiring functional wings (this is also known as the alate stage); this second-to-last winged instar is usually very short, often a matter of hours, and is known as a subimago or to fly fishermen as a dun. This stage is a favourite food of many fish, and many fishing flies are modeled to resemble them.

Adult
The lifespan of an adult mayfly can vary from just 30 minutes to one day depending on the species. 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 hindwings. 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. It often happens that all the mayflies in a population mature at once (the hatch), and for a day or two in the spring or fall, mayflies will be everywhere, dancing around each other in large groups, or resting on every available surface. This happens in mid-June on the Tisza River in Serbia and Hungary; this kind of mayfly is called the tiszavirg (in Hungarian) or "tiski cvet" in Serbian which is translated as "Tisza flower" in both languages. This natural phenomenon is called Tisza blooming. In certain regions of New Guinea and Africa, mayflies are eaten when they emerge en masse on a certain day. Because of its short lifespan, the mayfly is also called oneday fly in some languages French phmre, German Eintagsfliege, Dutch eendagsvlieg, Slovenian enodnevnica, Swedish dagslnda, Danish and Norwegian dgnflue, Polish jtka jednodniwka, Spanish efmera, Romanian efemeride

Ecology
Both immature and adult mayflies are an important part of the food chain, particularly for carnivorous fish such as trout in cold water streams or bass and catfish in warm water streams, or Walleye in cool water lakes. Males generally fly in swarms that undulate in the air 5-15 meters above the ground.

A mayfly note the two very long front legs and the two long "tails" at the hind end.

Conservation
The status of most species of mayflies is unknown because many species are only known from the original collection data. Four North American species are believed to be extinct, two of which are listed below:

Pentagenia robusta was originally collected from the Ohio River near Cincinnati, but this species has not been seen since its original collection in the 1800s. Ephemera compar was reported from the "foothills of Colorado". Despite intensive surveys of the Colorado mayflies, this species has not been collected in the past 50 years. The large blue lake mayfly, Tasmanophlebia lecuscoerulea, is listed as vulnerable.

RESEARCH IN ROYAL BELUM BY USM STUDENTS Few of the Aquatic Insects for Order Ephemeroptera - Mayfly

Currently, the research in Royal Belum is still at the early stage. The scholarship holder, Wan Mohd Hafizul and the other two students are doing the research on Ephemeroptera (Mayfly), Plecoptera (Stonefly), and Trichoptera (Caddisfly). They can lead to further research and better understanding of the ecology in Royal Belum including the fish species like Kelah. Those aquatic insects are the indicator that the Royal Belum has a very good quality water.

Stonefly nymph

Stonefly adult

Pupa of Caddisfly

Adult of Caddisfly

We can find a lot of them in every river in Royal Belum. Through their monthly sampling activities, it is hoped that they are able to find more new species. The mayfly can be one of the main tourist attractions, for those who want to experience once in a lifetime seeing millions of Mayflies emerging from the water. It flies out of the water like a tornado (Puting Beliung) and dies after less than one hour. They live as the aquatic insect ranging from 2 months to 5 years, and become an adult for 1 hour up to 1 day. The researcher should identify the best spot and season to bring the tourist to see the Mayfly mating and drops onto the water. This is the moment when many fish species can enjoy lot of food. According to the tourist guide, this thing normally happens early in the morning (06:00 am) near the Base Camp Sg Kejar from October to November.