South American Giant Mayfly vs Burrowing Mayfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	South American Giant Mayfly	Burrowing Mayfly
Scientific Name	Campsurus major	Hexagenia limbata
Order	Ephemeroptera	Ephemeroptera
Family	Polymitarcyidae	Ephemeridae
Size	15-25 mm	18-32 mm body
Habitat	Rivers & Streams	Ponds & Lakes
Diet	Omnivores	Omnivores
Regions	South America	North America
Conservation	Least Concern	Least Concern

South American Giant Mayfly

A large tropical mayfly found in South American rivers and floodplains. Males have distinctive elongated forelegs used for grasping females during mating flights.

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Did You Know?

Its mass emergences from Amazonian rivers provide a critical food pulse for fish and birds.

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.