Darwin's Amazing Animals

Blooming of the Tisza ― Long-Tailed Mayfly, Hungary (4x9)

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The "Blooming of the Tisza" is a grand spectacle that appears like countless blossoms covering the Tisza River's surface, along with a shower of swirling petals. Sound romantic? Here's a little secret: those "flowers" and "petals" are actually millions of bugs! The long-tailed mayfly, Europe's biggest mayfly, reaches about 13 centimeters in its brief adult stage. Threats abound in and out of the water, yet it spends those precious few hours in a furious quest to mate, with surprising results.