Short lived insect, often less than a day, it flies along the river, mates, lays eggs and dies.
On the river Hypanis in the Cimmerian Bosphorus, about the time of the summer solstice, there are brought down towards the sea by the stream what look like little sacks rather bigger than grapes, out of which at their bursting issues a winged quadruped. The insect lives and flies about until the evening, but as the sun goes down it pines away, and dies at sunset having lived just one day, from which circumstance it is called the ephemeron.” Aristotle, History of Animals, Book V, Chap. 19.
Like mayflies, we fly too between the previous darkness and dusk. During the fly, besides eating and mating, we can contemplate , delighted, the buildings below, the trees, the shapes of clouds in the sky, conversation with other mayflies, listen to birds singing, or a radio broadcast.