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May 10th, 2004
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Q. Thank you for your kind answer to my earlier question about Ephemerella "X". My question for this month is as follows: The other day I noticed some mayfly spinners in flight above a trout stream. They were flying straight up into the sky and then stopping and "gliding" down with their wings spread out. They would do this in a vertical column, up and down. They would rise to about 15 feet in the air and then drop to about 10 feet or so. It almost looked like they were playing, but insects don't "play". Is this some sort of mating ritual to attract the opposite sex? That is my guess. Thank you for your response, I look forward to reading it.
A.
Thanks for the kind words. Your guess is right
on the money; what you observed is the typical
mating "dance" that many mayflies perform. The
males are the ones doing the up-and-down "dancing."
The females fly through the swarms and are seized
from below by the males who then mate with them.
~ C. E. (Bert) Cushing, aka Streamdoctor 105 W. Cherokee Dr. Estes Park, CO 80517 Phone: 970-577-1584 Email: streamdoctor@aol.com
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The 'Stream Doctor' is a retired professional stream ecologist and
author, now living in the West and spending way too much time
fly-fishing. You are invited to submit questions relating to
anything stream related directly to him for use in this Q & A Feature
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