A strange insect: Ephemera sp.

[Galliani Carlo]

hello everyone
this is strange insect with very very long tail


this is with no tail

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Carlo,
Beautiful light and great BG. The perch is lovely too! I am of two minds on this one.....a big part of me want to see the entire tail.......but you mention it was very long so in that respect....if it minimized the details of the insect too much....I might crop the OP presentation even tighter from the bottom.....about 1/2 the space so it looks like the tail was deliberately cut there......not clipped. Make sense? Just something for you to consider as I have not seen this insect and it is very well done!

[Galliani Carlo]

thank you Roman for comments and suggestion
this insects is very difficult for compo
here the intere insect so everyone can understand

[Roy Priest]

Carlo, this is a Mayfly as evidenced by the three tails. I like the first for all the sharp details but prefer the second as we can see the whole insect.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Wow Carlo!!!! I do like the repost too.....because you captured it very well also. The OP has more impact.....but both are winners in my book! Thanks for showing us!

[Julie Kenward]

I agree...they are both fantastic in their detail but that second post tells the entire story on the insect so I'd have to say I prefer that one! Beautiful lighting, details are great and that killer tail...never seen anything like it!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Carlo. Great shot of a mayfly. I love the light and detail in your OP. The 2nd version is very nice also because it shows the extreme length of the "tails" - these are very long even for a mayfly. Very well done!

Since most folks don't seem to be familiar with this insect, here's a little biology: There are about 600 N. American species (I expect there are lots in Europe too). The larval form is aquatic living in freshwater lakes or streams from 1-4 years. As adults, they only live 1-2 days - just long enough to mate and for the females to lay eggs. The adults do not feed and do not even have functional mouthparts. Emergence as adults is typically highly synchronized. Depending on the species, there can be literally millions emerging from a lake virtually at the same time. A few days later their bodies are washing up in piles on the beaches - sometimes for as far as you can see in either direction (I have witnessed this quite a few times). These become an abundant, but temporary food source for birds, fish, and anything else the feeds on insects.

[christopher galeski]

very nice Carlo,like them both,but I think I like the second one best,nice BG,nice comp.thanks.

[Galliani Carlo]

thanks everyone for comments
the name of this insect (with a little hel of Entomological Italian Forum) is Ephemera danica or Ephemera glaucos-remains a doubt among the two species