Anyone who has studied British mayflies for any length of time will have noticed a number of changes to the scientific names of species.  These name changes arise as we learn more and more about the species that we study.  Before I explain why these changes happen let’s have a look at the name itself.  The Small dark olive is known by entomologists as Baetis scambus.  It is part of the family Baetidae, which in turn is part of the Order Ephemeroptera.  The Baetis part refers to the genus (and is always capitalised), the scambus part refers to the species.  Let’s use an everyday example to illustrate this.

Buses, vans, lorries, cars are all grouped together and called ‘vehicles’.  This is equivalent to the Order level.  If we focus in a bit closer and look only at ‘cars’ we are looking at the equivalent of the Family level.  The make of the car, for example ‘Ford’ is equivalent to the ‘Genus’ and the model of the car ‘Focus’ is equivalent to the species.  Only models made by Ford can be linked with that genus so we can’t have a ‘Ford Astra’ or a ‘Vauxhall Focus’.  In addition, all the models made by Ford will look similar, will use similar parts and will be recognisably Fords.

So a Small dark olive is Baetis scambus.  It is similar to other species in the genus Baetis and will have features in common with other genera (the plural of genus) in the family Baetidae.

Order	Vehicles	Ephemeroptera
Family	Cars	Baetidae
Genus	Ford	Baetis
Species	Focus	rhodani

 

Now back to why names change.  There are a number of reasons.  First of all there are times when the same species is described on two separate occasions and given two different names.  For example, the species we now know as a March brown was described as Rhithrogena haarupi by Peter Esben-Peterson in 1909, however in mid-20^th century R. haarupi was found to be the same species as R. germanica which had been described by Alfred Eaton in 1885.  As the description by Eaton was earlier than that of Esben-Peterson the name R.haarupi was synonomised with R. germanica and from that day on the species was known as R. germanica.

In the example above it was only the species name that changed.  Another way that a name can change is where a species is transferred into a new genus.  This usually happens when an entomologist finds that a species is more closely related to species in another genus.  Traditionally this was based on morphological differences however the development of molecular techniques to look at the genetic similarity of species is leading to much more clarity on the position of species in genera (and the validity of species as a whole).

To round off this article I’ve included a list of British species with all their synonyms.  One last thing to note is that authority and year are an important clue to what has happened to the name.  The authority is the person who first described species and assigned the species name.  If this appears in brackets then it means that the name has changed in some way from the original.  The year helps you to work out the chronology of the various changes and allows you to search out the original species description.

COMMON NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME	SYNONYMS	AUTHOR AND YEAR
Sepia dun	Leptophlebia marginata		(Linné, 1767)
		Ephemera marginata	Linné, 1767
		Ephemera procellaria	Schwarz, 1793-1830
		Ephemera talcosa	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera viridescens	Geoffroy, 1785
		Leptophlebia stigma	(Pictet, 1843-1845)
		Potamanthus stigma	Pictet, 1843-1845
Claret dun	Leptophlebia vespertina		(Linné, 1758)
		Ephemera vespertina	Linné, 1758
		Euphyurus albitarsis	Bengtsson, 1909
		Leptophlebia albitarsis	(Bengtsson, 1909)
		Leptophlebia meyeri	Eaton, 1884
Purple dun	Paraleptophlebia cincta		(Retzius, 1783)
		Ephemera albipennis	Fabricius, 1793
		Ephemera cincta	Retzius, 1783
		Ephemera inanis	Gmelin, 1790
		Leptophlebia placita	(Bengtsson, 1917)
		Paraleptophlebia placita	Bengtsson, 1917
Turkey brown	Paraleptophlebia submarginata		(Stephens, 1835)
		Baetis reticulata	Burmeister, 1839
		Ephemera dispar	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera gemmata	Scopoli, 1763
		Ephemera helvipes	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera submarginata	Stephens, 1835
		Paraleptophlebia castaneus	(Pictet, 1843)
		Potamanthus castanea	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Potamanthus gerii	Pictet, 1843-1845
Scarce purple dun	Paraleptophlebia werneri		Ulmer, 1919
		Paraleptophlebia tumida	Bengtsson, 1930
Ditch dun	Habrophlebia fusca		(Curtis, 1834)
		Baetis ciliata	Strom, 1783
		Ephemera fusca	Curtis, 1834
		Ephemera minima	Müller, 1776
		Ephemera minor	Stephens, 1835
		Habrophlebia konjarensis	(Ikonomov, 1963)
		Habrophlebia mesoleuca	(Brauer, 1857)
		Potamanthus brunneus	Pictet, 1843-1845
Yellow mayfly	Potamanthus luteus		(Linné, 1767)
		Baetis mellea	Curtis, 1834
		Ephemera chlorotica	Rambur, 1842
		Ephemera flavicans	Rambur, 1842
		Ephemera hyalina	Panzer, 1804
		Ephemera luteus	Linné, 1767
		Ephemera reticulata	Geoffroy, 1785
		Eucharidis reaumuri	Joly, 1876
		Potamanthus reaumuri	(Joly, 1876)
Green drake Mayfly	Ephemera danica		Müller, 1764
		Ephemera parnassiana	Demoulin
		Ephemera cognata	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera hispanica	Rambur, 1842
Striped Mayfly	Ephemera lineata		Eaton, 1870
Drake mackerel Mayfly	Ephemera vulgata		Linné, 1758
		Ephemera communis	Retzius, 1783
		Ephemera hispanica	Navas, 1903
Blue-winged olive	Serratella ignita		(Poda, 1761)
		Ephemerella ignita	(Poda, 1761)
		Baetis obscura	Stephens, 1836
		Cloeon fusca	Schneider, 1845
		Ephemera apicalis	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera diluta	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera erythrophthalma	Schrank, 1798
		Ephemera fusca	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera ignita	Poda, 1761
		Ephemera rosea	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera rufescens	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemerella erythrophthalma	(Schrank, 1798)
		Ephemerella lactata	Bengtsson, 1909
		Ephemerella sibirica	Tshernova
		Ephemerella torrentium	Bengtsson, 1917
		Potamanthus aeneus	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Potamanthus gibbus	Pictet, 1843-1845
Yellow evening dun	Ephemerella notata		Eaton, 1887
Angler’s curse	Caenis beskidensis		Sowa, 1973
Angler’s curse	Caenis horaria		(Linné, 1758)
		Caenis dimidiata	(Stephens, 1836)
		Caenis fennica	Aro, 1928
		Caenis pennata	Stephens, 1835
		Cloeon dimidiata	Stephens, 1836
		Ephemera brevicauda	Fabricius, 1793
		Ephemera halterata	Fabricius, 1777
		Ephemera horaria	Linné, 1758
		Ephemera parvula	Scopoli, 1763
		Ephemera plumosa	Müller, 1776
		Caenis horaria fennica	Aro, 1928
Angler’s curse	Caenis luctuosa		(Burmeister, 1839)
		Caenis felsinae	Grandi, 1951
		Caenis moesta	Bengtsson, 1917
		Caenodes felsinae	(Grandi, 1951)
		Oxycypha luctuosa	Burmeister, 1839
Angler’s curse	Caenis macrura		Stephens, 1835
		Brachycercus chironomiformis	Curtis, 1834
		Caenis argentata	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Caenis interrupta	Stephens, 1835
		Caenis grisea	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Caenis halterata	Eaton, 1884
		Caenis macedonica	(Ikonomov, 1954)
		Caenis oophora	Pictet, 1843-1845
Angler’s curse	Caenis pseudorivulorum		Keffermüller, 1960
Angler’s curse	Caenis pusilla		Navas, 1913
		Caenis pusillus	Navas, 1913
		Caenis rhenicola	Malzacher, 1976
Angler’s curse	Caenis rivulorum		Eaton, 1884
		Caenis nivea	Bengtsson, 1917
Angler’s curse	Caenis robusta		Eaton, 1884
		Caenis incus	Bengtsson, 1912
		Caenis miliaria	Tshernova
Large broadwings	Brachycercus harrisellus		Curtis, 1834
		Brachycercus magna	Tshernova, 1952
		Brachycercus pallida	Tshernova, 1928
		Brachycercus pallidus	Tshernova, 1928
March brown	Rhithrogena germanica		Eaton, 1885
		Rhithrogena fradgleyi	Blair, 1929
		Rhithrogena haarupi	Esben-Petersen, 1909
		Rhithrogena ussingi	Esben-Petersen, 1907
Olive upright	Rhithrogena semicolorata		(Curtis, 1834)
		Baetis semicolorata	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis semitincta	Pictet, 1845
		Ephemera fuscula	Schranck, 1798
		Ephemera speciosa	Poda, 1761
		Ephemera stigma	Gmelin, 1790
		Rhithrogena grisoculata	Bogoescu, 1933
		Rhithrogena semitincta	(Pictet, 1845)
Autumn dun	Ecdyonurus dispar		(Curtis, 1834)
		Baetis dispar	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis fluminum	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Baetis subfusca	Stephens, 1835
		Ecdyonurus fluminum	Auct. Pro Parte
		Ecdyonurus fluminum	(Pictet, 1843-1845)
		Ecdyonurus fluminum speciosa	Navas, 1915
		Ecdyonurus longicauda	(Eaton, 1871)
Large green dun	Ecdyonurus insignis		(Eaton, 1870)
		Heptagenia insignis	Eaton, 1870
		Ecdyonurus rhenanus	Neeracher, 1910
Large brook dun	Ecdyonurus torrentis		Kimmins, 1942
False March brown	Ecdyonurus venosus		(Fabricius, 1775)
		Baetis purpurascens	Pictet, 1845
		Ecduyrus quaesitor	Eaton
		Ecdyonurus nigrimana	(Brauer, 1876)
		Ecdyonurus purpurascens	(Pictet, 1845)
		Ecdyonurus quaesitor	(Eaton, 188?)
		Ephemera berolinensis	Müller, 1776
		Ephemera nervosa	Villers, 1789
		Ephemera rufa	Rambur, 1842
		Ephemera venosa	Fabricius, 1775
		Heptagenia nigrimana	Brauer, 1876
Scarce dusky yellowstreak	Electrogena affinis		(Eaton, 1885)
		Ecdyonurus affinis	(Eaton, 1885)
		Electrogena trimaculata	(Ikonomov, 1963)
		Heptagenia affinis	Eaton, 1885
		Heptagenia trimaculata	Ikonomov, 1963
Dusky yellowstreak	Electrogena lateralis		(Curtis, 1834)
		Baetis lateralis	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis obscura	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Ecdyonurus concii	Grandi, 1953
		Ecdyonurus rivulorum	Navas, 1928
		Electrogena rivulorum	(Navas, 1928)
		Heptagenia concii	Grandi, 1953
		Heptagenia maculata	Ikonomov
Brown May dun	Kageronia fuscogrisea		(Retzius, 1783)
		Heptagenia fuscogrisea	(Retzius, 1783)
		Ecdyonurus confinis	Tshernova, 1928
		Ecdyonurus convergens	Aro, 1910
		Ecdyonurus rossicus	Tshernova, 1928
		Ephemera fuscogrisea	Retzius, 1783
		Heptagenia confinis	(Tshernova, 1928)
		Heptagenia convergens	(Aro, 1910)
		Heptagenia rossica	(Tshernova, 1928)
		Heptagenia volitans	Eaton, 1870
Scarce yellow May dun	Heptagenia longicauda		(Stephens, 1836)
		Baetis cerea	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Baetis longicauda	Stephens, 1836
		Ephemera flavipennis	Dufour, 1841
		Heptagenia flavipennis	(Dufour, 1841)
Yellow May dun	Heptagenia sulphurea		(Müller, 1776)
		Baetis costalis	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis cyanops	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Baetis elegans	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis marginalis	Burmeister, 1839
		Ephemera bioculata	Römer, 1789
		Ephemera citrina	Hummel, 1825
		Ephemera ferruginea	Gmelin, 1790
		Ephemera helvola	Sulzer, 1776
		Ephemera leucophthalma	Strom, 1783
		Ephemera lutea	Stephens, 1835
		Ephemera straminea	Curtis, 1834
		Ephemera sulphurea	Müller, 1776
		Heptagenia elegans	(Curtis, 1834)
		Heptagenia soldatovi	Tshernova
	Arthroplea congener		Bengtsson, 1909
		Arthroplea elegans	(Bengtsson, 1908)
		Arthroplea frankenbergeri	Balthasar, 1937
		Arthroplea mirabilis	(Aro, 1910)
		Arthroplea southi	(Blair, 1929)
		Cinygma mirabilis	Aro, 1910
		Haplogenia southi	Blair, 1929
		Remipalpus elegans	Bengtsson, 1908
Northern summer mayfly	Siphlonurus alternatus		(Say, 1824)
		Baetis alternatus	Say, 1824
		Siphlonurus linnaeanus	(Eaton, 1871)
		Siphlonurus oblitus	(Bengtsson, 1909)
		Siphlonurus thomsoni	(Bengtsson, 1909)
		Siphlurella oblita	Bengtsson, 1909
		Siphlurella thomsoni	Bengtsson, 1909
		Siphlurus linnaeanus	Eaton, 1871
Scarce summer mayfly	Siphlonurus armatus		(Eaton, 1870)
		Siphlonurus latus	Bengtsson, 1909
Summer mayfly	Siphlonurus lacustris		(Eaton, 1870)
		Siphlonurus nuessleri	Jacob, 1972
		Siphlonurus pyrenaicus	Navas, 1930
		Siphlonurus zetterstedti	(Bengtsson, 1909)
		Siphlurus lacustris	Eaton, 1870
Upland summer mayfly	Ameletus inopinatus		Eaton, 1887
		Ameletus alpinus	Bengtsson, 1913
Dark olive	Baetis atrebatinus		Eaton, 1870
		Labiobaetis atrebatinus	(Eaton, 1870)
Scarce olive	Baetis buceratus		Eaton, 1870
		Baetis grandii	Grandi, 1948
		Baetis scanicus	Bengtsson, 1917
Scarce iron blue	Baetis digitatus		Bengtsson, 1912
		Nigrobaetis digitatus	(Bengtsson, 1912)
Pale watery olive	Baetis fuscatus		(Linné, 1761)
		Baetis andalusicus	Navas, 1911
		Baetis autumnalis	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis bioculatus	(Linné, 1758)
		Baetis flavescens	Curtis, 1834
		Baetis venustulus	Eaton, 1885
		Ephemera bioculata	Linné, 1758
		Ephemera culiciformis	Linné, 1758
		Ephemera culiciformis	Olivier, 1791
		Ephemera flava	Schranck, 1776
		Ephemera fuscata	Linné, 1761
		Ephemera lutea	Geoffroy, 1785
		Ephemera notata	Gmelin, 1790
Iron blue	Baetis muticus		(Linné, 1758)
		Ephemera mutica	Linné, 1758
		Ephemera striata	Linné, 1767
		Baetis dissimilis	Navas, 1924
		Baetis furcatus	Navas, 1933
		Baetis pumilus	(Burmeister, 1839)
		Baetis pumilus dissimilis	(Navas, 1924)
		Cloe pumilus	Burmeister, 1839
Southern iron blue	Baetis niger		(Linné, 1761)
		Baetis incurvus	Bengtsson, 1912
		Ephemera nigra	Linné, 1761
Large dark olive	Baetis rhodani		(Pictet, 1844)
		Cloe rhodani	Pictet, 1844
		Baetis bocagii	Eaton, 1885
		Baetis iberi	Navas, 1913
		Baetis maderensis	(Hagen, 1865)
		Baetis pusillus	Bengtsson, 1912
		Baetis wallengreni	Bengtsson, 1912
		Cloe maderensis	Hagen, 1865
Small dark olive	Baetis scambus		Eaton, 1870
		Baetis hispanus	Navas, 1915
Medium olive	Baetis vernus		Curtis, 1834
		Baetis finitimus	Eaton, 1870
		Baetis phaeopa	Stephens, 1836
		Baetis tenax	Eaton, 1870
		Ephemera dubia	Curtis, 1835
		Ephemera testacea	Gmelin, 1790
Small spurwing	Centroptilum luteolum		(Müller, 1776)
		Baetis carnea	Curtis, 1834
		Centroptilum diaphanum	(Müller, 1776)
		Centroptilum halteratum	(Burmeister, 1839)
		Centroptilum ochraceum	(Stephens, 1836)
		Centroptilum translucidum	(Pictet, 1843-1845)
		Cloe halterata	Burmeister, 1839
		Cloe translucida	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Cloeon albipenne	Stephens, 1836
		Cloeon hyalinatum	Stephens, 1836
		Cloeon ochraceum	Stephens, 1836
		Ephemera caudata	Strom, 1783
		Ephemera diaphana	Müller, 1776
		Ephemera luteola	Müller, 1776
Pond olive	Cloeon dipterum		(Linné, 1761)
		Cloe affinis	Rambur, 1842
		Cloe fusca	Schneider, 1845
		Cloe virgo	Pictet, 1843-1845
		Cloeon consobrinum	Stephens, 1835
		Cloeon dimidiatum	(Curtis, 1834)
		Cloeon marmoratum	Curtis, 1834
		Cloeon obscurum	Curtis, 1834
		Cloeon pallidum	Leach, 1815
		Cloeon robustum	Bogoescu, 1933
		Cloeon rufulum	(Müller, 1776)
		Cloeon russulum	Eaton, 1871
		Cloeon sinense	Walker, 1853
		Cloeon szegedi	Jacob, 1969
		Cloeon unicolore	Curtis, 1834
		Ephemera annulata	Müller, 1776
		Ephemera dipterum	Linné, 1761
		Ephemera rufulum	Müller, 1776
Lake olive	Cloeon simile		Eaton, 1870
		Cloeon hovassei	(Verrier, 1949)
		Procloeon hovassei	Verrier, 1949
Pale evening dun	Procloeon bifidum		(Bengtsson, 1912)
		Cloeon bifidum	Bengtsson, 1912
		Procloeon lychnidense	Ikonomov, 1962
		Procloeon rufulum	(Eaton, 1885)
		Procloeon pseudorufulum	Kimmins, 1957
Large spurwing	Procloeon pennulatum		(Eaton, 1870)
		Pseudocentroptilum pennulatum	(Eaton, 1870)
		Centroptilum pennulatum	Eaton, 1870

This time last month I was in Wakayama in Japan where I was representing the UK at the International Joint Meeting on Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera.  Nearly 80 delegates, including the great and the good of the Mayfly/Stonefly world were there and the meeting was packed with interesting papers.

The highlight for me was a new technique which allows you to examine the internal anatomy of insects with dissecting them.  This technique, based on tomography (like CT scanning) takes virtual slices through the animal which are then reconstructed with a computer.  The results are unbelievable – for an example of just what this technology can do, have a look at Javier Alba-Tercedor’s movies on YouTube.  My personal favourite is the adult mayfly.

Another highlight were the field trips.  The first was to the Nyu river where we encountered the local fauna. You’ll probably be surprised to hear that it wasn’t that different to what we get in the UK.  Certainly, the species were different, however the main families Ephemeridae, Heptageniidae, Ephemerellidae, Baetidae, Siphlonuridae, Leptophlebiidae and Potamanthidae were all instantly recognisable.  Even some of the UK species are found in Japan.  Cloeon dipterum, the Pond olive, is common in Japan and we learned in one talk at the conference that this species is now found around the world, and as such is probably the most successful mayfly species so far.

An endemic Japanese mayfly
Dipteromimus tipuliformis

The afternoon was devoted to helping local school children to identify aquatic insects that they had collected from the river.  This was incredibly good fun and surprisingly, the language barrier was no problem at all!  The whole event was streamed live to the internet – there was even an interview with yours truly!

Our second field trip was to the kumano-kodo area.  We couldn’t have got a more contrasting demonstration of river management.  On our first field trip we were the guests of a river conservation project which had fought (successfully) against a hydro-scheme on their river.  Our second river was being systematically re-modelled – perhaps vandalised would be a better term….  The devastation was everywhere.  It was really hard to comprehend the scale of the damage being wrought upon these rivers.  It appears that it was a massive flood prevention scheme in the wake of a typhoon last year, however you had to feel that all this (probably expensive) work would ultimately be futile against the sort of floods that can result from a typhoon.

Extreme river engineering

My attendance at this meeting was for three reasons: to present a paper on the work of the Riverfly Recording Schemes; to display a poster on the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative; and most importantly, to present a proposal to host the next International Joint Meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2015.  Our proposal was up against an excellent proposal from Frederico De Salles from Brazil and after lengthy discussions the IJM permanent committee decided to accept both proposals with the meeting being held in Scotland in 2015 and Brazil in 2018.  A great result but now the hard work begins!

I’d like to acknowledge the support from Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, the Riverfly Partnership, Freshwater Biological Association and the Salmon and Trout Association, without which I would not have been able to attend the conference.

The Blue-winged olive (Serratella ignita) is not only one of the most well-known British mayflies, but it is also one of the most common and abundant mayflies of swift running waters. It can also occasionally be found on the stony shores of upland lakes. The nymphs are usually found clinging to, or crawling amongst submerged plants and stones. If disturbed they will swim in short bursts with a rocking motion.

Emergence of the adults takes place at the surface of the water during daylight hours and at dusk. The males of this species can be found swarming throughout the day, and swarming often continues until dusk. The mated female produces an egg mass which she holds under her tail. The eggs are usually laid in areas of fast flowing and turbulent water, where moss is present.

There is one generation a year, which usually overwinters in the egg stage. Adults emerge between April and September. There may be separate winter and summer generations in warmer waters, such as those of southern England, and this results in a longer flight period.