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The
order Ephemeroptera comprise mayflies. Mayflies have two
or three long caudal filaments, short antennae and large
compound eyes. The wings have many cross-veins. Many mayflies
families have been recorded in amber, although they are
rare. This is due to the fact that they do not live long
(a couple of hours to several days) and do not venture far
from the pond or river breeding grounds.
On the transition from nymph to adult stage, they fly
from the surface of the water for mating, but do not feed.
They complete their mating process and die soon after. Mayfly
eggs are laid in water, and are hatched within one or two
weeks. Nymphs develop for a year or more in water, molting
more than 20 times before they become an adult. There is
a series of plumose gills on both sides of the abdomen,
moving from time to time to absorb oxygen from the water.
Mayfly nymphs, in fact, spend more time in water, and are
the main theme of the mayflies' lives. We usually think
that the adult form is the main stage of the insects, but
this does not apply to mayflies.
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This
particular mayfly looks like he posed before he became
entombed in his graveyard of sticky resin. Most probably
this animal in is the family Baetidae.
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This
link contains a scanned
image so you can see the full size of this animal. Here
is an actual picture (impressive.)
The
price of this rare specimen is $900
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