Mayfly (Ephemera danica)

This is a remarkable insect. It spends most of its life as a nymph in lakes or rivers that have sandy or muddy bottoms. What makes it remarkable though is that thousands and thousands hatch on the same day and throng the air 'dancing' up and down in the sun.

They do not eat as flying adults, they just mate, lay eggs and die where they become food for hungry trout.

The main rivers of Dorset are ideal for Mayflies but you have to be there on the day they hatch to see the spectacle and we were lucky enough to see this on the River Sour near Sturminster Newton yesterday.

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