The short life of adult May-flies is, with most of them, passed in a continual state of agitation. They are seen rising vertically in a straight line, their long fore-legs stretched out like antennae, and serving to balance the posterior part of the body and the filaments of the abdomen during flight. On reaching a certain height they allow themselves to descend, stretching out while doing so their long wings and tail, which then serve as a parachute. Then a rapid working of these organs suddenly changes the direction of the motion, and they begin to ascend again. Coupling takes place during these aerial dances. Soon afterward the females approach the surface of the water and lay therein their eggs, spreading them out the while with the caudal filaments, or else depositing them all together in one mass that falls to the bottom.
These insects seek the light, and are attracted by an artificial one, describing concentric circles around it and finally falling into it and being burnt up. Their bodies on falling into the water constitute a food which is eagerly sought by fishes, and which is made use of by fishermen as a bait.

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