According to AFP, mayfly larvae live underwater for three years, and then millions of these short-lived insects engage in a frantic rush to mate and reproduce before they perish in just a few hours during 'Tiszaviragzas' - the Tisza blooming season - which lasts from late spring to early summer every year. The species was once widespread across Europe, but has now disappeared from much of the continent.

Peter Kohalmi / AFP - Getty Images
Long-tailed mayflies (Palingenia longicauda) dance around each other in large groups on the surface of the Tisza river near Tiszafured, Hungary, early in the evening on June 13.


Very beautiful photo