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Mayfly (2mm)


Mayfly (2mm)
Photo Information
Copyright: Haraprasan Nayak (haraprasan) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1570 W: 101 N: 5421] (20403)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-01-24
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon EOS 400D, Tamron 18-200mm F3,5-6,3 XR DiII LD Asp, Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro
Exposure: f/13.0, 1/100 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-01-24 6:48
Viewed: 3759
Points: 31
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is my first post with Raynox DCR 250 along with Tamron 18-200. And I dedicate this to Mr. Grzegorz Wieczorek (red45) as I was inspired to go for Raynox after seeing his posts (HERE).

Thanks a lot for viewing.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Ephemeroptera
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 Paleoptera, which also contains the dragonflies and damselflies. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called naiad or, colloquially, nymph) usually lasts one year in fresh water. The adults are short-lived, from a few hours 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", "Canadian soldier", and "fishfly".

The mayfly belongs to group 1 taxa, or pollution–sensitive animals. This means if mayflies are in or around the water, the water should be good quality, perhaps even good enough to drink without distilling or boiling.

Naiads
The naiad 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.

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 modelled 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 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.

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 tiszavirág (in Hungarian) or "tiski cvet" in Serbian which is translated as "Tisza flower". 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 one–day fly in some languages — French éphémère, German Eintagsfliege, Dutch eendagsvlieg, Slovenian enodnevnica.

Ecology
Both immature and adult mayflies are an important part of the food web, particularly for carnivorous fish such as trout in cold water streams or bass and catfish in warm water streams. They do not feed (mouthparts are vestigial), and some species emerge, reproduce, and die in a single day. Males generally fly in swarms that undulate in the air 5-15 meters above the ground.

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:-

* 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.
XOTAELE, mariki, matatur, cataclysta, jaycee, nglen, eqshannon, ramthakur, boreocypriensis, cicindela, angybone, bahadir has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To cicindela: Thank you very much once againharaprasan 2 01-26 02:15
To matatur: Thank youharaprasan 1 01-24 09:03
To joey: Thank youharaprasan 1 01-24 08:42
To cataclysta: Thank youharaprasan 1 01-24 08:38
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Critiques [Translate]

Hola Haraprasan.
Una interesante nota para un insecto tan...minúsculo.
Buenos detalles y nitidez.
Saludos, JL.

Hi Haraprasan
Object is very interesting and also very difficult to photograph. Raynox is a powerfull tool. I was wondering about the raiting here (problems with sharpness and strange light background) On the other hand it was a rely difficult object.
Anyway today smaller smile
Best wishes
Krzysztof

A super macro and an interesting eye structure Haraprasan, maybe those memraneaus wings and thin antennae would show better against a darker BG with a little side-lighting from behind, what do you think?
Mehmet

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1739 W: 224 N: 6872] (24909)
  • [2008-01-24 8:30]
  • [+]

Hi Haraprasan,
welcome to the Raynox club! :)
You will have hours of fun!
Great first image!
Good composition and POV.
It's got a good DOF as well.
Well done my friend.
Congratulations on your new buy :)

Joe

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2454 W: 10 N: 8044] (25460)
  • [2008-01-24 8:43]

Hi Haraprasan,

A fascinating looking insect. The wings are amazing. You have captured this with good details. Wonderful first shot with your Raynox.

Jane

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2008-01-24 9:03]

My best compliments to this very professional work,not easy to show so perfect this little little insect,thanks for share,Luciano

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2883 W: 30 N: 9683] (36145)
  • [2008-01-24 12:02]

Hi my friend. This is what you call macro work . with such a small insect. you will have fun with the lens. good detail and natural colours. well done TFS.
Nick..

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1127 W: 254 N: 3161] (14464)
  • [2008-01-24 12:37]

Hi Haraprasan,

A new toy as I can see,a nice macro with good colors and details,mayby not perfect yet but very well done for a first go,I think we can see some nice stuff in the future,thanks

Paul

These things will cover your body in a few seconds..I used to mow lawn in Northern Michigan in the spring..for some friends who had a cottage up there and the lawn int he am was thick with them...crazy..and a fine picture to remember one of my learning moments in life.
Bob

You have captured this tiny insect with one day's life span very well with your new macro equipment, HP.
Despite sizable magnification, the salient features of the insect are clearly etched out.
Your note on the species throws ample light on this creature.
TFS.
Ram

Hello Haraprasan,

It is the camera I need to play with :-)
Very nice picture with lots of detail.
Very well done,
Cheers,
Mariki

Hi friend Harprasan!
Nice may fly and nice capture. The wings are well sharpness. TFS friend. Cheers,
Bayram

And once again hello! :)
This time I am here because of interesting note - I wanted to check the result of using Raynox lenses (I already bought one last time :>).
The may-fly (only 2mm!!) is amazing creature, even if the photo is a little to "white as for me :)
I hope to see some more Raynox-picture from you soon :)
Best greetings from Lodz,
Radomir

PS. just for fun, please feel free to watch here my "version of this insect order" :)

Awesome macro...such a tiny creature and you captured such amazing detail!

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-01-25 20:16]

Hello Haraprasan

Amazing detail for an insect 2mm in size.
The focus is very good.
The POV is well done.
TFS
Rob

Hello Haraprasan
A perfect close-up shot of this beautiful ephemeropteran species with excellent details, sharpnes. TFS.
Regards,

Bahadır

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