Here's your word for the day...Ephemeroptera

Ephemeroptera. Ephemeral.

The

Mayflies

ah in bloom again...uh...wait. That was calla lilies that Kate was talkin about, wasn't it?



This was taken last Sunday on our little cruise aboard the Spirit of Peoria. There were a few out then. But today....



Oh, this is nothin...the air was literally thick with 'em this morning. The side of our neighbor's house was covered with 'em. Don't know why they prefer their house, other than maybe the color of it attracts 'em. The one with the wings still, is circlin the drain. The ones that look like their wings are gone are no more. They're ex-Mayflies. Dried up. Dessicated. Spent after such a brief, but intense, life.

See, they live only to breed. They don't have stingers...nothing for defense. They don't eat...don't even have mouths. All they do is hatch out...and breed. Spread their genes. Then die within a few hours.

La petit morte, indeed.

They're really kinda cool...when they're alive. All floaty and...ephemeral. But there are so many of 'em...millions...trillions...that they can clog up stuff. Like central air units. Car grills. This particular "bloom" wasn't that big. But they tell us that it might happen a couple-three times this summer.

Ya know, a lotta people around here won't swim in the river. They say it's too polluted. But...

"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."

With the amount of this particular bloom, I'd say we don't have too awful much to worry about.

Pretty sure I wouldn't drink the river water...anyway.