The mayfly insect species (order Ephemeroptera) or the dragonfly fly is the fastest living animal. The lifespan of this insect is only 24 hours. That's why the mayfly is dubbed the one-day insect. There are more than 3,000 mayfly species that have been documented worldwide. The growth of the mayfly goes through four phases, namely egg, nymph, subimago, and imago. During the metamorphosis phase of the adult insect (imago) this is the end of the age of the mayfly. The mayfly lays its eggs in the water, then it will hatch after two weeks. After the nymph comes out of the egg, the life process begins until 50 times the skin changes. The length of the cycle also varies. Some are only two weeks. Some take up to two years, as quoted from Britannica. The process of releasing the nymph's skin is usually on the surface of the water. Part of his body remained in the water. The vulnerable period of its life is between the nymph and subimago phases, because it becomes the target of land and water predators. After 50 molts, the subimago (the phase has not yet reached sexual maturity) will break away from the skin of the last nymph. Subimago will fly looking for a comfortable place to take cover. Within a matter of days the subimago sheds its skin. In the imago (sexual maturity) phase, the mayfly is born. The life phase of the mayfly immediately carries out the breeding process. Mayfly will mate in a very short time. The process of reproduction only occurs in one night. After reproduction the mayfly will die. A professor of entomology at Oregon State University (OSU) and one of the world's leading experts in the field of using amber to study ancient life forms, George Poinar said, the presence of mayfly genera and species has helped understand the ecology of the past.
"Understanding the ecology and history of mayflies is important, in part because they are one of the most important fish foods in the world," Poinar said.
The life of a mayfly is strange. It lives as a nymph for about a year in fresh water. Then, it emerges for just one day as an adult mayfly to mate, lay eggs and then die.
"After mating, mayflies usually die at the end of the day," Poinar said. "There's only one thing they really care about on that eventful day, and that's not eating. They don't even have a functioning mouthpart."
During their short adult life, mayflies must find a mate, copulate, and lay their eggs back into the water they came from.Although mayflies are short-lived as adults, they play an important role in river and lake ecosystems. Launching pbs.org, in very large numbers, mayflies become an important link in the food chain, one of which is fish. In addition, the presence of mayflies is also an important indicator of water quality in a place. In general, large populations of mayflies will live in clean water. They will not live in water that is polluted by various pollutants.
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