dayfly
1
9.2
A small insect with thin wings whose young live in water and adults live less than two days
- noun
- /ˈdeɪˌflaɪ/
:
efímera
- After spending years underwater, the dayfly has just one day to find a mate.
Examples
-
The adult dayfly emerges from the water, living only a few hours to mate and lay eggs.
-
Dayfly eggs?
-
Some species of dayflies can be seen dancing above the river in the warm afternoon sun.
Synonyms
mayfly
vsdayfly
3
7.5
A small insect with thin wings that lives only a short time as an adult
is an alternative name for the same insect, not a different species
shadfly
vsdayfly
1
9.9
An insect with thin clear wings whose young live in water and adults live only a few days
gives a specific usual duration of under two days for the adult stage
9.9
An insect like a mayfly that lives only a few hours as an adult
is the everyday term used more in nontechnical speech
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Dayfly is made of day ('a 24-hour period') and fly ('a small winged insect'), and it is another name for the mayfly. Because the adult insect lives only a very short time, often just a day, the name reminds us of its brief life.