Blue-winged Olive Mayfly vs Burrowing Mayfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Blue-winged Olive Mayfly	Burrowing Mayfly
Scientific Name	Serratella ignita	Hexagenia limbata
Order	Ephemeroptera	Ephemeroptera
Family	Ephemerellidae	Ephemeridae
Size	7-10 mm body	18-32 mm body
Habitat	Rivers & Streams	Ponds & Lakes
Diet	Omnivores	Omnivores
Regions	Europe	North America
Conservation	Least Concern	Least Concern

Blue-winged Olive Mayfly

A common mayfly of clean rivers and streams with distinctive blue-grey wings. One of the most important mayflies for fly fishing. Nymphs cling to stones in fast water.

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Did You Know?

So important to fly fishers that dozens of artificial fly patterns have been designed to imitate its various life stages.

Burrowing Mayfly

Creates massive synchronized emergences so dense they appear on weather radar. Billions emerge simultaneously from lake bottoms where nymphs burrowed for up to two years.

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Did You Know?

Mayfly emergences along the Mississippi River are so massive they show up on Doppler weather radar — billions of insects rising simultaneously look like approaching thunderstorms.