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Sticker of Turkey brown
Bug card No. 4462 of 4,939

Turkey brown

Paraleptophlebia submarginata
Eats: Nothing as a grown-upOther insectsPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The turkey brown is a dark brown mayfly from Europe, and it lives in Estonia too. It has see-through wings and three long, thin tails. It grows up underwater in stony streams and rivers.

Lives in
Most of Europe, including Estonia, by stony streams and rivers
Length
0.9 to 1.2 cm (0.35 to 0.47 in)
Top speed
about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Mayflies cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups do not eat at all. Their young nibble algae and tiny bits of old plants on mossy stones.
For real!Photo of Turkey brown
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Turkey brown about 1.2 cm long (0.47 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
as long as 2 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 76 secondsmoves 120 times its own body length every second

How big is Turkey brown compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its three tails can be longer than its whole body, up to 15 millimetres in males.

2

The not-quite-grown-up stage lives about 20 hours, and the grown-up only up to 3 days. Males rarely live more than one day.

3

The mother lays her eggs on the water surface, and they sink straight to the bottom.

4

When it rests, it holds its wings straight up over its back.

5

You can see the grown-ups from early April to the middle of September.

you asked

Most asked questions about Turkey brown

?How long does the turkey brown live?

Most of its life is spent underwater as a young one. The flying grown-up lives only up to 3 days.

?Does the turkey brown live in Estonia?

Yes. It lives in most of Europe, Estonia included.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Paraleptophlebia submarginata
Group
Other insects
Family
Leptophlebiidae
Classification
Insecta > Ephemeroptera > Leptophlebiidae
Lives on
Europe

Where the facts come from

  1. Paraleptophlebia submarginata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 4.0, 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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More from the same group: Other insects

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

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