How adorable is this little mayfly (Labiobaetis sp) nymph doing its wiggly dance under the microscope?Collected from the waterways near the Jesuit Residence, this cute video was shared by Jhoana Garces of the Ateneo Biodiversity Laboratory. Previously there were only three members of Labiobaetis in the Philippines, but through the intrepid work of the ABL, we now know there are 21 – some of which may be found on campus and possibly in other similar habitats in the city.Mayflies have an interesting life history. They hatch and spend most of their life in water, feeding off detritus. They are hemimetabolous, meaning they go from egg to nymph to adult, with the nymphs already resembling the adult to some degree. Once they mature into adults – called imago – they leave the water and take to the sky, their primary objective is to mate and propagate the species. As adults, they live only a few days, just enough time to mate and lay eggs, after which they die, and this ephemeral existence is why their order is called Ephemeroptera. Mayfly nymphs are not just cute – they are also indicators of the quality of water in our campus streams and canals. They are sensitive to pollution such as sewage or pesticides, and thus their presence means that the habitats they live in remain relatively clean. There are so many more discoveries to be made, even in our little patch of urban green space. We look forward to all the new things we’ll learn this year! Thank you Jhoana for sharing your mayfly video - we hope you will be able to ID it soon for another new species discovered on campus!#mayfly #labiobaetis #hemimetabulous #bioindicator #ateneobiodiversitylaboratory #SundayShare #urbanecology #campusbiodiversity #citizenscience #theateneowild | The Ateneo Wild