different stages of Heptagenia flava

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

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Peter Maihoefer
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Location: Southern part of Germany

different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by Peter Maihoefer »

One of the finest mayflies (single shots - no stacking). All pictures are made from living insects.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. Thanks for watching and for any comment.
Attachments
Heptagenia flava Larva
Heptagenia flava Larva
Heptagenia flava Subimago
Heptagenia flava Subimago
Heptagenia flava Imago with Exuvia
Heptagenia flava Imago with Exuvia
Heptagenia flava Imago
Heptagenia flava Imago
Heptagenis flava Imago Detail
Heptagenis flava Imago Detail
Last edited by Peter Maihoefer on Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

Adalbert
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by Adalbert »

very nice :smt038

AlP
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by AlP »

Lovely series, especially the larva.

Sumguy01
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by Sumguy01 »

Very nice.
Thanks for sharing =D>

MarkSturtevant
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by MarkSturtevant »

Gorgeous pictures! A lot of thought clearly went into these. There is an especially interesting detail here. Mayflies are strange insects in that when the aquatic nymph molts to its winged adult form, that adult can fly (barely), but then it quickly molts again. No other adult insect does this to my knowledge. I think you show that in the picture where the now fully mature adult is next to its cast skin - the skin being from the earlier winged form.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Peter Maihoefer
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by Peter Maihoefer »

Thank you for the comments, especially Mark for his additional information on mayflies. The skin behind the imago is from the subimago.

The transformation into Imago happened when I was changing my camera lens. It happened so quickly that I didn't even notice it at first during the further photographic work. That's why I unfortunately don't have any pictures of this molt.

Yes, mayflies are the only winged insects that have an intermediate stage. This intermediate stage is called subimago. Although the transformation of the aquatic larva into a flying mayfly has been completed, the mayfly molts again. This is unique. The mayflies (Ephemeroptera; from Greek ephemeros - one-day, pteron - wing) are the most original of the flying insects (Pterygota).

Historically, the first relatives of today's mayflies lived 250 million years ago. They appeared before the dinosaurs and still exist today.

colohank
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by colohank »

Hats off to you for capturing images of living insects. None I've tried to photograph have been so cooperative. Any secrets you'd be willing to share?

rjlittlefield
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by rjlittlefield »

Your images are beautiful!
Peter Maihoefer wrote:
Sat Jan 29, 2022 2:37 am
The transformation into Imago happened when I was changing my camera lens. It happened so quickly that I didn't even notice it at first during the further photographic work.
I had an experience that started just the same way! But then I got lucky enough to capture most of the process. An animation and various still photos are at viewtopic.php?f=27&t=43661 .

--Rik

Peter Maihoefer
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by Peter Maihoefer »

colohank wrote:
Sat Jan 29, 2022 9:10 am
Any secrets you'd be willing to share?
Secrets, hm.......No, just a sum of little details from 40 years of experience in dealing with aquatic insects.

I collect the larvae that are ready to hatch and put them in my aquarium covered with a net. A small motor generates current and an air pump supplies the insects with oxygen. This are all cheap material from the pet store.

short digression: Some mayflies need the current to hatch and one in my area (Epeorus sylvicola) can only live in the current. E. sylvicola can´t move the gills to wave away the less oxygenated water that forms around the gills due to diffusive respiration. This is also not necessary for E.sylvicola in its natural habitat, because this species is always found in the strongest current. The rigid gills are part of the larva to allow better adhesion to the substrate.

After the hatch, the subimagos are collected in small boxes. One mayfly in one box. Placing the boxes outside at night makes it easier for the mayflies to transform into an imago.

I only start the photo session on a stress-free day when there are no other dates and when enough specimens have hatched. If the box is opened and there is no artificial light in the room, the mayfly fly to the window. It is even better if there is a curtain in front of the window. The mayflies can hold on well here.

Without touching the mayfly with my hand, I now try to position a mayfly correctly. For this I use the tip of a soft feather and a net. With the soft tip of the feather (all other grains are removed) I encourage the mayfly to run onto the net and then back from the net onto the stalk.

This rarely succeeds the first time, but usually after 30 minutes at the latest, a mayfly is properly seated. The game often starts over again. The important thing is to keep calm. As a rule, the larger the species, the easier it is. The little ones can be really annoying.

All in all, I can take more and better pictures than in nature. It is also easier to determine if you know from which larva the imago hatched.

That's my way, how I photograph the mayflies.

Crazy? Yes, I know.

Peter

colohank
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by colohank »

Not crazy at all. The rewards justify the time and effort you put into your work. Great images!

ap
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by ap »

beautiful pictures and very interesting narrative - thank you!
andy

Guppy
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Re: different stages of Heptagenia flava

Post by Guppy »

Hallo Peter

As usual from you very nice pictures
The making of is interesting.
Thanks a lot

Kurt

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