Mures River in Romania has been under the mayflies’ „siege” today, as millions of them have emerged from mud of the riverbanks. The spectacular phenomenon takes place only once a year and lasts less than a day.
Mayflies are also known in the Romanian folk traditions as Rusalii, for the insects usually appear nearby the famous religious holiday of Rusalii/ Pentecost.
Mayflies are a sort of fantastic creatures: they live in a maggot shape for three or four years, dug in the mud on the riverbanks. Then they turn to insects, but live just for 24 hours the most, only to find a mate and to lay eggs. After that, they die.
Experts say that the life of the mayflies depends on the clean environment and the fact that they do show up on Mures riverbanks proves that the river is not polluted.
However, the biologists warn that any mayfly that is caught up is a loss for nature.
„The fact that it is a fragile species, as it is affected by the weather, is another reason to protect it,” says Gabriel Herlo, biologist at the Lunca Muresului Natural Park, as quoted by Digi24.
Legends say that mayflies are the spirits of the youngsters who died before getting married, and who, once a year, are allowed to come down on earth for mating.