An international group of entomologists has bestowed its greatest honor for 2021: Insect of the Year. The recipient is the fascinating Danish Mayfly. But it won’t have long to celebrate its 15 minutes of fame.
The Danish Mayfly, or Ephemera danica, lives only a few days. In that time, it must emerge from a watery birthplace, mature, learn to fly, find a mate, and lay new eggs. Whew!
God tells us that all our time here is fleeting, and even human existence on Earth lasts just a blink compared to eternity. 1 Peter 1:23-25 says, “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” The short-lived mayfly is a good reminder of how momentary physical existence can be—but for believers, that’s not a hopeless reminder. As Peter emphasizes at the start of verse 23, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable.” A Christian’s purpose and identity never ceases—even after physical death.
About 140 species of mayflies live in Central Europe. Despite the short life of the final larval and adult forms of the mayfly, the entire developmental cycle is quite long. Female mayflies zigzag over water between May and September, laying thousands of eggs that then sink. Larvae hatch within a few days and eventually form gills. But they remain buried in riverbeds, taking between one and three years to develop before emerging.
“Shortly before the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life, a layer of air forms between the old and new skin,” says Dr. Thomas Schmitt. He is the director of the Senckenberg German Entomological Institute in Muencheberg, east of Berlin, Germany. That air pocket helps the larva rise to the surface. “Once there, the larval skin bursts, and within a few seconds, a flyable mayfly hatches.”
The fully developed mayfly has no mouth and no functioning digestive system. So it has only a few days to find a mate and lay new eggs before it dies. And that, apparently, is worth recognizing with a prestigious scientific title: Insect of the Year 2021.
(A Danish Mayfly perches on a twig near the water it emerged from. A German entomological society has named this mayfly Insect of the Year for 2021. Wolfgang Kleinsteuber via AP)
1st comment
Don't these only live for a day? Interesting, I didn't even know there was an insect of the year thing
2nd Comment
That is so interesting. I never knew that there was even and Insect of the Year title! It is a very curious looking bug as well!!! It is so amazing that the mayfly can be born, grow up, lay eggs, and die, all in a few short days!! Wow!! Isn't God just awesome?
3rd comment
Wow, I didn't know insect of the year was a thing! And I can't believe 2021 is almost here...
4th comment
This is really cool but also kind of sad because the mayfly has no time to enjoy anything about life.
Insect of the Year? Um, who
Insect of the Year? Um, who cares...?
I mean, if that's your kinda
I mean, if that's your kinda thing, OK, but, why would you have an insect of the year?
@ Hesperus
Someone cares, obviously, or why would there be one? I think it's pretty cool, I didn't know about the Danish mayfly. And I'm sure it, I don't know, brings attention to the insect, and maybe more people want to research it?
this is Mylee
I didnt know about the insect of the year and by the looks of it nobody on here does. Thats interesting about the mayfly 3 days is so short. And to above (whoever said this) I agree they don't have much time to enjoy life but then again no bugs do. Flies only live up to 2 weeks, and what can bugs enjoy lol.
Interesting....
I didn't know this existed...nice.
That was NA
That was NA
M.A
I've heard of this Danish mayfly. I've also read about them this is M.A
this is M.A about mayflies...
In spite of their longevity as a group, mayflies have an incredibly short lifespan. As adults, many species like the green drake live only one day. Although may mayflies live only a short time as adults they can spend up to two years as nymphs, during this time they go through several molts maturing a bit each time. Eventually they develop wings and soon become adults.
~ M.A : D
I thought flies lived the
I thought flies lived the shortest. I guess not. only 15 min! @maddy m 2020 went by so fast because of the lockdown. I've never experienced a year go by faster than this!
How early do ya'll wake up (i
How early do ya'll wake up (i am not a southerner)? whenever I come on here their are exactly like 11 comments. Also, XD makes and breaks sense.
How early do ya'll wake up (i
How early do ya'll wake up (i am not a southerner)? whenever I come on here their are exactly like 11 comments. Also, XD makes and breaks sense.
Imagine living only a few days!
I knew that there are some bugs that live only a few days, but come to think of it, it must be pretty crazy! Imagine that! I don't know how they can do that! I am pretty grateful that us humans don't live that short of a life.
Wow hmm, i had no idea there
Wow hmm, i had no idea there was such thing as Insect of the Year
I have never heard of Insect
I have never heard of Insect of the Year.
@David P
I get up at about 6:15 in the morning, do my usual chores such as make bed, fix hair, etc. etc. etc, and then come down to our schoolroom and look at the news here and work on some school until breakfast is ready.
@David P
I do what Riley said xD
21st comment
I didn’t know there was an insect of the year. It’s interesting. And they do so much in such a short time!
@ David I get up at 7:45am uk time
@ Riley WHAT?! 6:15am wow! I have to FORCE myself to get up in the morning! I am soooo tired when I wake up I could sleep for a decade. And I have to get my own breakfast :-( sad. do you get yours made for you? Sorry I’m asking too many questions but do you have a separate room for home school?
@ NA and Riley. I admire you both! You get up SO early!
@David P
I get up around 6:00, and tidy my room up a bit first.
@Mirela
Sorry you weren't talking to me but I'm going to answer ;p
Usually i eat cereal because I'm still half asleep until my mom starts reading history....then I wake up...a little...xDD
@riley d
It is so cold in our house I have stopped making my bed. I am so cold so i have to walk around in my blanket xDD
I usually wake up at 7:30
I usually wake up at 7:30 before my younger siblings so it's peaceful. I do one of my subjects and read a little. My goal is get up with my alarm at 6:30.
@David P
I get up between 7:00 and 7:30, and then I workout, make my bed, get a shower and get dressed, etc. I have to make my own breakfast and sometimes even my brother's breakfast. Afterwards, I do school until lunch.
@ NA
I’m glad I’m not the only one ! XD
straw berries
I usually get up at 7 but when it is straw berry season (middle spring-early summer) me and my sister get up at 5:30 to go pick .
i get up at 6:00 am and make
i get up at 6:00 am and make a cup of tea. then my mom reads our book of the week to me and my younger brother till about 7:30. ( this week our book is the adventures of tom sawyer) . then we all do a barn chore( i feed our chickens) then have breakfast. and then school of course.
addition to above
and my dad almost always makes breakfast. we fend for ourselves at lunch.
@David P
i usually get up at 9...
@chloe p
That is late! I usually get up at around 7:30 and latest like 8:30. At 9:00 i probably end breakfast (at latest) and start school.
@chloe p
That is late! I usually get up at around 7:30 and latest like 8:30. At 9:00 i probably end breakfast (at latest) and start school.
@Above
I got up at 9 today (⓿_⓿) BECUASE I WAS UP ALL NIGHT READING A VERY SUSPENCIFUL BOOK THAT HAD TO BE READ AND-
(my mom let us have a free day)
I usually get up at 6:00, do
I usually get up at 6:00, do some school, and then get distracted by reading my books. I know a guy who gets up at 4:30 to tend to his horses. I don't know how he does it! If I woke up that early, I would probably fall asleep during school. Lol.
I woke up at 8:15 Because I
I woke up at 8:15 Because I stayed up at like 11:00 today. I never read books that late except for the bible (I usually don't read the bible that late, either)
lol the reason i wake up late
lol the reason i wake up late is because i stay up till like 11:30 most nights
@above
Wow! that's late to read! We had dinner at like 7:20 last night but still got to bed at 11:00. Unless you eat dinner at 8:00 I can see why (no offense).
https://teen.wng.org/node
https://teen.wng.org/node/3858 just copy and paste it. I was thinking about the people who were formerly on world teen who was on here. What if they were in college now? I wonder what they're doing nowadays. If anyone is still here from 2016 raise your hand.
I have to be in bed by 10
I have to be in bed by 10:30pm but I usually can’t fall asleep till at least 45 mins later so I read (cause I get bored of waiting to sleep) then I can’t stop cause its usually soo good so sometimes I can’t sleep till like 1:30am which is not good..
And we usually eat around 5
And we usually eat around 5:30 -6pm.
@David P
*raises hand*
*cough* I was on here sense 2016 but I didn't comment as much, and most of my comments didn't make any sense because I was a lot younger....but my username was "Nadia A" my mom had me change it to N&M.A for privacy xD But a lot of people who used to comment a lot don't comment anymore. But I know a lot of people who just read the articles and comments and don't get an account.
I usually wake up at 6:45-7
I usually wake up at 6:45-7:30am and I usually go to bed at 9:00 but I always fall asleep like 30 minutes after.
It's crazy that the Mayfly
It's crazy that the Mayfly lives for 15 minutes !
Since we live in an apartment
Since we live in an apartment and we have a family living under us with kids who go to bed around 8:00 or 8:30, we have to start getting ready for bed at 8:30 and be in bed by 9:00.
Have any of you read
Have any of you read Fahrenheit 451?
I couldn't fully understand
I couldn't fully understand the ending.
@David P
I wake up between 6:30 and 9 depending on the day.
@Mirela, i have to make my own breakfast too. Though usually it is just cereal in a cup, toast, a bagel, or no breakfast because nothing sounds good, lol.