New Species of Mayfly Discovered in India

A new species of mayfly was discovered in the southern Western Ghats, belonging to the genus Labiobaetics.

The new species of mayfly, dubbed Labiobaetics soldani, was discovered along the mountain range of west coast of India. It was found along the Gadana River in the southern Western Ghats in India. This is for the first time that scientists have identified a mayfly that has been collected from the peninsular India. The species is named in honor of Dr.T. Soldan, for his significant contribution to the understanding of Ephemeroptera of Palaearctic and Oriental realms.

Mayflies, also called as shadflies, belong to the order Ephemeroptera - which is derived from the Greek word "short-lived."  They are listed along with an ancient group of insects termed Palaeoptera that include dragonflies and damselflies. They have extremely short life spans and emerge in large numbers during the summer. The status of most of the mayfly species is unknown. The lifespan of the adult mayfly is very short and varies depending on the species.

The larvae of the mayfly have light-brown heads with light-yellow antennae. They grow up to 4-5 millimeters in length. Adult mayflies also measure up to 5 mm in length. Both, males and females, lack hind wings. It is estimated that worldwide, there are 2000 species of mayflies and 600 of them are present in North America, north of Mexico.

The newly-discovered mayfly Labiobaetis soldani is found to be closely related to Labiobaetics pulchellus, which has been derived from Sri Lanka in the larval stage. However, the new species can be differentiated from the rest by several morphological differences.

The finding was documented in the journal of Insect Sciences.