Wildlife
The giant or Tisza mayfly is Europe's largest species of mayfly. Unlike other mayfly species, the adults never lose contact with the water surface, trailing their tails along it as they swarm. Sometimes they become confused, however, and mistake wet road surfaces for the river.
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Brief encounters
Giant mayflies have only half an hour's flying time to find a mate.
The lifespan of an adult mayfly can vary from just 30 minutes to one day depending on the species, making them the proud owners of shortest adult lifespan of any insect. In this memorable sequence the transient beauty of some natural history events is clearly illustrated. To film them you have to make sure you are in the right place at exactly the right time, which takes not just careful planning, but good luck. With the male mayflies energy reserves allowing for only half an hour's flying time, the window of opportunity for capturing this event is stressfully short for both crew and creature!
The Tisza mayfly can be found in a number of locations including: Europe. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Tisza mayfly distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Rivers and streamsDiscover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Palingenia longicauda, sometimes known as the Tisa or Tisza mayfly is an aquatic insect in the Order Ephemeroptera, after the European Tisza river where it is found. It also known as the long-tailed mayfly and giant mayfly as it is the largest mayfly species in Europe, measuring 12 cm (5 in) from head to tail. Male Tisza mayflies are unique among winged insects as they moult after acquiring their functional wings.
Unlike most mayflies, swarms of adult P. longicauda never leave the water, their cerci are constantly touching or sweeping the surface. The slow moving river and absence of surfacing feeding fish help make this possible. The presence of P. longicauda is an indicator of clean unpolluted water. Now extinct in many European countries, it can be found in Serbia and Hungary on the Tisza river , as well as in Romania, on Prut and lower Danube basin.
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Adapted to swimming
Adapted to flying
Metamorphosis
Egg layer
Semelparous
Spawning
Swarming