Mayfly
Mayfly
Invertebrate
The adult mayfly lives for just a single day — so briefly that it never even feeds — rising in great clouds over rivers to mate before nightfall.
💡 Fun Facts
- The adult mayfly has the shortest lifespan in the animal kingdom, living for just 24 hours.
- They don't even have mouths because they don't live long enough to eat!
- Their only goal is to mate and lay eggs.
Name Story
Ephemera danica
means “the one that lasts but a day”
What does its name mean?
- Ephemera — lasting only a dayGreek (epi, 'for' + hēmera, 'day')
- danica — of Denmark (where it was described)Latin
- mayfly — for the swarms that appear in MayEnglish
Its name tells its most famous secret: the grown-up mayfly lives for just a day or two, not even stopping to eat — it emerges only to find a mate before its brief life is over. (It spends far longer growing underwater as a youngster.)