mayfly
4
7.5
- noun
- /ˈmeɪˌflaɪ/
:
efímera
- Mayflies are unique insects that only live for a couple of days as mayflies.
- mayfly hatch
- mayfly nymphs
- swarm of mayflies
You know, insects like mayflies who live just for a brief period.
- You know, insects like mayflies who live just for a brief period.
- So we have a small caddisfly, a large caddisfly, mayfly, stone flies, and fly larvae.
- So you might think of the proverbial mayfly who is born and lives for a day, mates, you know, spawns all of those sorts of things.
- So down here with your mayflies and your, your, your spiders and all your insects, they need very little energy, but they they don't use it very efficiently.
Examples
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While some endure year after year, others have the lifespan of a mayfly.
Academic text (2011) -
Plus, nearly all mayflies are a staple of freshwater fish diets.
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You know, insects like mayflies who live just for a brief period.
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You could see the water all pocked and busy, but it wasn't rain yet, only gnats and mayflies and the lapping rings of fish sipping off the surface.
Fiction book (1996) -
The sky was cloudless, blue as periwinkle; the air, warm and summery, seethed with insects, mayflies, and yellow-winged butterflies.
Fiction book (1994) -
During the summer, large groups of mayflies can often be seen flitting around the riverbank.
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The presence of mayflies indicates that the water is clean and well-oxygenated.
Synonyms
An insect like a mayfly that lives only a few hours as an adult
A small insect with thin wings whose young live in water and adults live less than two days
An insect with thin clear wings whose young live in water and adults live only a few days
Idioms
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Mayfly comes from the month May and the common word fly meaning 'insect'. These small insects often appear in May and the adult stage usually lasts only a day or two, so mayfly reminds us that this is a very short-lived insect.