Mayfly Nymph

Mayflies, like some other insects, live in water whilst they are growing into adults. At the nymph stage, they look similar to other creatures such as dragonflies, damselflies and beetles. Mayfly nymphs have three long tails coming out of their abdomen but tend to look wider than other nymphs. This is because they have feathery gills along the sides of their bodies. The gills help them to extract oxygen from the water which means they can breathe under water.

Mayfly nymphs tend to live in the water for around two years before coming to the surface and transforming into adults. Adult mayflies famously only live for one day, when they mate, lay eggs and then die. As a result, as adults, they do not have mouth parts because they don't need to feed.