Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word mayfly. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word mayfly, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say mayfly in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word mayfly you have here. The definition of the word mayfly will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofmayfly, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
2002, John Gooderham, Edward Tsyrlin, The Waterbug Book, page 132:
Adult mayflies have large compound eyes and most have two pairs of wings.[…]Mayfly nymphs are distinguished by their three tails (two cerci and a terminal filament) and the set of gills on each side of their abdomen.
2005, Terry Hellekson, Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art, page 213:
Mayflies are fragile, gossamer-winged insects that arise from bodies of water and often swarm in great numbers.
2010, Barbara L. Peckarsky, J. David Allan, Angus R. McIntosh, Brad W. Taylor, “Chapter 9: Understanding the Role of Predation in Open Systems”, in Ian Billick, Mary V. Price, editors, The Ecology of Place, page 195:
Stoneflies have negligible consumptive (thin solid line) and behavioral effects (thin dashed line) on mayfly abundance. Consumption by trout decreases the abundance of mayflies (solid line), but trout suppress mayfly emigration (drift) and thereby increase their abundance (thick dashed line).
2023 October 7, Jim Pickard, “It's not government that creates jobs”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 3:
Dipping a French fry in her tomato ketchup, she admits that her name recognition could be higher. But it did spike a year ago during the mayfly premiership of Liz Truss.
Usage notes
In some English dialects, the alternative plural form is "mayfly". For exampleː While some animals take months to reproduce, mayfly need just one perfect day.
