Yellow mayfly
Potamanthus luteus
The yellow mayfly is a pale yellow mayfly from European rivers. Its young grow up underwater in the river. The grown-ups live only for a very short time, just long enough to find a mate and lay eggs.
Lives in
Rivers in mainland Europe and a few in Britain
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Mayflies cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups do not eat at all. The young eat tiny bits of food they find in the river.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Yellow mayfly about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
In Britain it was found mainly on two rivers, the Usk and the Wye.
2
It may have disappeared from the River Usk, and in the River Wye there are far fewer than before.
3
Its young belong to a group of mayflies that burrow in the riverbed.
you asked
Most asked questions about Yellow mayfly
?What does the yellow mayfly eat?
The grown-ups do not eat at all. Only the young, which live in the river, eat.
?Where does the yellow mayfly live?
Along rivers in mainland Europe, and in Britain mainly on the River Wye.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Potamanthus luteus
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Potamanthidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Ephemeroptera > Potamanthidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Potamanthus luteus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Sanja565658. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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