Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) » Pisciforma » Heptagenioidea » Flatheaded Mayflies (Heptageniidae)
Photo#1914278
aquatic nymph?
Copyright © 2020 Wendy Jegla

aquatic nymph?
Millcreek Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USA
November 9, 2020
Size: ~ 1 - 1.5 inches
Don't know much about aquatic insects, but never seen anything with a "tail" like this before. I knew I couldn't get good photos, but figured I could find a rough match in "Freshwater Invertebrates" (Voshell), but couldn't. It moved a couple of times, and once flipped that tail up in the air. Maybe it's not a nymph at all?

Images of this individual: tag all
aquatic nymph? aquatic nymph? aquatic nymph?
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Wendy Jegla on 9 November, 2020 - 1:19pm
Last updated 9 November, 2020 - 5:23pm

Maccaffertium mediopunctatum
Maccaffertium mediopunctatum
… The Stenonema Rangers of Ontario, 27 July, 2023 - 11:22pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Natalie Hernandez, 9 November, 2020 - 5:23pm login or register to post comments

Mayfly Nymph
I think it's a mayfly nymph, but I'm not very familiar with aquatic insects either.

… Nathaniel Green, 9 November, 2020 - 1:32pm login or register to post comments

 
Yep! I think that family too.
Check out this species:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/251070/bgimage

Here's a pretty cool website that goes over how to separate aquatic things. It's Australian but still applies to a lot of North American species too.

https://www.mdfrc.org.au/bugguide/display.asp?type=4&class=17&S..
… Natalie Hernandez, 9 November, 2020 - 3:39pm login or register to post comments

 
well how cool is that
I assumed I'd see a three-part tail on a mayfly, but I went looking through the flatheaded pics and found this image which matches what I saw.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/1013646/bgimage

Mine has much bigger biceps, but the tails are identical. :-) Maybe sometimes the three parts are zippered together or this happens pre/post molt? In any case, thanks!
… Wendy Jegla, 9 November, 2020 - 4:43pm login or register to post comments

 
It's just because it's out of water.
There are three tails on your specimen and that example you linked to, although some naiads do only have 2. They're stuck to each other.

Here is a good example of two specimens next to each other that shows how they can look like one spike out of water.

https://wiflyfisher.com/march-brown-mayfly-hatch.asp
… Natalie Hernandez, 9 November, 2020 - 5:19pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact