The Mayfly spends the majority of her life in her juvenile form, an aquatic larvae. For around a year she makes her home in streams, under sediment, rocks or decaying vegetation and feeding on algae. Some species are predatory. In spring or autumn, all of the Mayfly in the pool mature simultaneously, emerging from the water as immature winged adults. She will undergo one more moult before she attains her full adult form. Once a fully mature adult, the Mayfly are short-lived, with some species surviving only a few hours, others only a matter of days, long enough to breed. Like many species of moths, the full adult form is only for reproductive purposes and she cannot eat; her mouthparts are vestigal and her digestive system is filled with air.
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