Several insects have very short adult lifespans and die within 24 hours after reaching adulthood, with the most famous example being the mayfly, which is known for its extremely brief adult life. Mayflies belong to the order Ephemeroptera, which literally means short-lived wing in Greek, and adult mayflies live for only a few hours to one day, with some species living as little as 30 minutes to a few hours. They spend most of their lives as aquatic nymphs for months to years underwater, then emerge as adults, molt, mate, lay eggs, and die within 24 hours, and they do not even have functional mouthparts to eat as adults because their sole purpose is reproduction. Other insects with very short adult lifespans include some species of midges and gall midges that live only a day or two, and male drone ants and some male mosquitoes that die shortly after mating. Worker honeybees live longer, about 6 weeks in summer, but drones die after mating. Fruit flies live about 40 to 50 days, so they do not die within 24 hours. The 24-hour lifespan is an adaptation to synchronize mass emergence for mating, often called a hatch, where thousands of mayflies emerge at once to increase mating success. While many people think all small flies die quickly, most household pests like German cockroaches live 100 to 200 days, bed bugs live 6 to 12 months, and house flies live 15 to 30 days, so mayflies are exceptional for their one-day adult life and are often used as symbols of fleeting life.
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