Researchers Find New Mayfly Species in India

Researchers have discovered a new species of mayfly in southern India.

The insect was found in the southern Western Ghats, which is a mountain range along the west coast of India. Researchers say that the finding is unique because this is the first time that any mayfly belonging to the genus Labiobaetis has been discovered in this part of India.

The Western Ghats is a biological hotspot. In recent years, other researchers have reported finding several new species of plants, a gecko species and two new genera of tree frogs.

The new mayfly species is called Labiobaetis soldani. It is "named in honor of Dr. T. Soldan for his substantial contribution to the understanding of the Ephemeroptera of Palaearctic and Oriental realms," according to the authors of a study.

The species is closely related to Labiobaetis pulchellus, which is found in Sri Lanka. However, several morphological characteristics make Labiobaetis soldani different from other mayfly species found in the Oriental region, according to a news release.

The new mayfly species adults are about five millimeters long. Both male and female flies lack hind wings. The larvae have light-brown heads with light yellow antennae and grow to about 4-5 millimeters long.

The study is published in the Journal of Insect Science.

Mayflies belong to the order Ephemeroptera and are any member of a group of insects that have short lifespan. These flies emerge in large swarms during summer months. Shadfly, sandfly, dayfly, fishfly and drake are some of the other names of these flies.

Some 600 of the 2000 known species of mayflies are found in North America.

Recently, a swarm of mayflies invaded some parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The flying bugs even caused a traffic accident in Wisconsin and left many cars sticky with dead flies.