mayfly
Posted by michael madson on June 9, 2006
Q: I saw a mayfly on the stream that was totally black. The body was all black and the wings where all black. Some has large red eyes. There were hundreds just floating on the surface on the water. What kind of Mayfly was it?
Habitat: stream/river
State: Wisconsin
Habitat: stream/river
A: Oh my, there are hundreds of different species of mayflies in North America so providing a definite answer for you is just not possible. Even entomologists must examine these insects closely to figure out which is which - it's not at all easy.
You got to see one of those special times in nature when a large number of mayfly nymphs transformed from their immature to mature stage in life. This is the time when trout fishermen are particularly eager to be on hand since the mayflies are especially vulnerable at this point in their lives and the fish gobble them up. Fishermen like to plop their flies into the stream in hopes of catching that big trout. Sorry I can't nail this for you but hope you understand. Thanks for sharing though.
John Wiessinger ( June 10, 2006)