[ID] Mayfly please!

[Jason Green]

Hi all

I was working out in the garden this afternoon and at first saw what I thought was an orange cranefly. I caught it on the end of my screwdriver and pulled it out a gap to be moderately surprised to see my first ever mayfly!

27/5/09

My first ever mayfly...
...with a screwdriver head to the right.

Right, set-the-scene time. It's a cold, wet and overcast-kind of day, and I'm working by a shed - and suddenly see something associated with hot days and rivers that I hadn't seen locally before. I do, however, have a garden with a 2x6ft pond - but I've never seen a mayfly there!

Which species is this, please? I take it you can't have false mayflies, like craneflies and winter craneflies?

Thanks for reading!

Take care,

Jason

[JRsbugs]

Strangely enough I got one today too Jason! Looks a lot like yours but I haven't downloaded the pics yet. I went outside when the weather improved and just noticed something going under a leaf, lucky! I've only seen one before and took a pic but it was about 3 years ago.

Janet

[Jason Green]

Funny! That seems to happen fairly often on WAB. I think a few of us share similar bug-hunting techniques. No wait, I think our's today were chance encounters, only-just-noticed finds!

[Dogghound]

This one could be tricky as I carnt see any tails , how many did it have?

[Jason Green]

Two certainly... though it could have had a shorter one in the middle??

I can't help but notice the pattern on the larger pair of wing's leading-edge? What was it doing out in the shed, almost as if it had been in hibernation? Would it be worth my time looking in my 2x6 pond with plenty of overhanging vegetation for signs of MFs emerging tomorrow when it's hotter, or could it have come from elsewhere? I don't know if there are any that close-by, though this was a strong flier - even for a cold day!