Mayflies have a life cycle with both aquatic and terrestrial phases. Although they may live for several years as an immature nymph in the water, their time as an adult on land is fleeting. Once they leave the water, they must molt before becoming sexually mature. They then typically mate and die within a single day. I found this male mayfly resting on the end of a dried flower head a small distance away from a wetland in a local prairie. It had just molted, and its discarded exoskeleton can be seen behind it.