Mayfly in my July and Whoa, I Didn’t Know They Had Two of These!

A nice walk along the Mississippi river turns south when a swarm of these buggers are all around! I didn't know what the heck these things were the other night, but all I know, was I had to keep my mouth closed (no talking is like no breathing for me!), head down and I ran. I saw them again along the Rock River and had to look it up. Thanks to the mayfly love season, all dem babies are hatching. Yay us! The Quad Cities is now in mayfly bloom.

While I understand the fascinating cycle of life and that every creature, every thing and yes, every fly (mayfly or not, they annoy me) has it's purpose here on Earth. I know they are food for other things. I read through all kinds of scientific stuff that made me want to nap while researching them.  But the most interesting thing I discovered is this:

Adult mayflies have two penises and the females ... yes, have two openings. So it makes me think they work like plug-ins.

According to Wikipedia (the place we're told not to reference in college papers):

"In most species, the males' eyes are large and the front legs unusually long, for use in locating and grasping females during the mid-air mating. In some species, all the legs are functionless, apart from the front pair in males. The abdomen is long and roughly cylindrical, with ten segments and two or three long cerci (tail-like appendages) at the tip. Uniquely among insects, mayflies possess paired genitalia, with the male having two aedeagi (penis-like organs) and the female two gonopores (sexual openings).^[1][2]"

 

These mayflies also dance around one another and even perform a nupital dance to attract their mate, then make the babies in the air and even cuddle and stay around the following day.  (*insert jokes here)

To learn more about these creatures, Mayfly away: