(Describer) Titles: The Bug Chicks, and Solpugid Productions, in association with Texas A and M University.
Insects and Human Society.
At a stream...
Hey, Kristie, did you know
even a place as clean
and pristine as this
may still have pollutants
in the water?
You know, there are
some insects that are used
as bioindicators
of clean water systems,
and that's because they're
really not tolerant at all
of pollutants in the water.
So if you see
these insects around,
it means that the water
is relatively clean.
And one of these insects
is the mayfly.
(Describer) Different insects are shown: including a small green one with wings, hundreds of tiny ones swarming a worm, one with transparent wings climbing a tree, a thin green one looking around, two with translucent white wings, and one crawling on a green leaf before flying off.
Titles: The Insect Orders.
[Morgantj plays
"Cafe Connection"]
♪
(Describer) Order Ephemeroptera : Mayflies.
Taxonomy.
Okay, so now we're getting
into a subclass of the insects
called the Pterygota.
Virtually all the order names
from here on out
is going to have P-T-E-R-A,
"ptera," at the end of it.
"Ptera" means winged.
Think "pterodactyl."
Caw!
This means they have wings,
or had them at some point
in their evolutionary history.
This is important
because of how we'll break down
the order names for you.
"Ephemeros" is Greek
for ephemeral, or fleeting.
"Ptera" means winged.
So the Ephemeroptera
are the fleeting winged,
and this weird name
has everything to do
with the dramatic way
they live their lives.
Once they become adults,
they only live
for 24 to 48 hours.
That's a really short time
to cram in
a whole lot of living.
(Describer) Title: Morphology.
Mayflies have
triangular-shaped wings
that are held over their backs
when they're resting.
They have
two or three caudal filaments
that come off the end
of the abdomen like thin tails.
The naiads, or immatures,
are always aquatic
and found in fresh water.
They also have those
characteristic caudal filaments
and gills to respire.
(Describer) Title: Biodiversity and Distribution.
Currently, there are about 3,000
described species of mayfly
found in freshwater habitats
all around the world,
but that number
is sure to rise.
In fact, in a recent study
in Madagascar,
scientists discovered
50 new species of mayfly
in one
10-square-kilometer area.
(Describer) Title: Biology and Life History.
Mayflies live
up to a year or more
as immatures called naiads.
They eat detritus and algae,
and help keep
stream ecosystems clean.
The adults don't actually
have functioning mouthparts,
so they don't eat at all,
and this is where
it gets really interesting.
(Describer) Title: Human Impact.
Mayflies are known for their
incredible emergence swarms.
These emergences
can be so large
that they can sometimes cause
a hazard to drivers on the road.
Also, it's been said
that the really big swarms
can be seen from Doppler radar.
[no audio]
(Describer) Kristie stands in front of a Doppler map like a tv meteorologist.
Title: Collecting.
Since these insects
spend most of their lives
in the water as naiads,
you should collect the adults
near water too.
Remember that they only live
for a short time
and most emerge
during early summer.
(Describer) Title: Mythology and Culture.
We have mayflies to thank
for the incredible sport
of fly-fishing.
And that signature move,
that casting,
is said to mimic the flight
of mayflies over the water.
Fly fishermen use
special lures called flies
that are made
out of string and feathers,
and they mimic these insects.
And we're here
with master fly-tier Jason,
and he's gonna tell us
a little bit more about it.
So, what we have here
is a Green Drake adult
and a Green Drake nymph.
The adult mimics
the hatched insect
where it's got upright wings,
and you can see that mimic
in these flies
with the upright wing
and nice long tail
that these mayflies have.
The nymph is reminiscent
of the real insect
because we've got
an actual wing case
and the gills along the abdomen
to mimic the real thing.
Mayflies live hard
and die young,
but they need
clean water to do it.
And you can do your part
to help keep
stream ecosystems clean.
All right,
are we ready to go commune
with nature and the mayflies?
Yes.
(Describer) They walk away wearing hip waders and carrying fishing nets and rods.
[panting]
♪
(Describer) Titles:
Written and Produced by Kristie Reddick, Jessica Honaker
Videographers: Kristie Reddick, Jessica Honaker
Assistant Videographer: Bob Reddick
All photos, video and illustrations copyright Solpugid Productions and The Bug Chicks unless otherwise attributed.
Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.
