A May Bank Holiday Walk along the River Wey (originally published 09/06/15 in wordpress blog of same name)

It was a warm, cloudy with a hint of sun late May bank holiday, walking the three and a bit miles along the banks of the River Wey form Guildford to Godalming- people sauntered and cyclist trundled past on the uneven tow path, A duck and it ducklings floated by whilst a shire horse plodded past pulling behind him a colourful narrow boat full of sightseers up the river.   Pond skaters and water boatman skedaddled, skated and slid across the water whilst above the water small flies, their long thin two pronged tails trailing behind, flitted up in the sky, dropping intermittently only to flit back up again. These flies were abundant above the river but more so above the hedgerows and the trees that bordered the river. These flies, as you may have already guessed, were mayflies (Ephemeroptera).

Previously called dayflies due to their ephemeral lifespan length of a day, the Mayfly species, of which there are approximately 50 in Britain, and contrary to its name, can actually be seen across most months from spring through to autumn.

They start their life as Mayfly nymphs, living and feeding off detritus, algae and   in the river for up to 2 years, within this time shedding their exoskeletons up to as many as 40 times, before they emerge       from the water to shelter under leaves along the river bank. This is where they shed their last exoskeleton before they then return en-masse to flitter above the water to mate. Once mated the females then returned to the water where they lay their eggs, die and give themselves up to the water- feeding fish and birds alike. The males retire to the leaves to die.

Which is where on the walk we saw a Great Tit perching in the bushes and branches on the edge of the river focused on pecking off the expired Mayflies, then  flying off to the safety of  a nearby tree at the last minute as us walkers trod by, returning quickly and confidently to its original spot- apparent danger passed.

It was this mass emergence and mating swarm, this madly flapping swirling air, which we happened upon on this cloudy May Bank holiday.  I have seen this event many times before but for some reason today was the day for me to really see them, to see the delicate transparent wings, their 2 long thin tails twice as long as their body streaming out behind their short comma shaped bodies    and marvel at the spectacle of their dance of flight in their last remaining hours of life.

A spectacle, an emergence that has occurred in abundance over and over again for over 300 million years, but, as is the way  of so many of our insects nowadays, the  days of abundance, of Mayfly mist above the water has passed, their numbers  declining.