Godin says he found many of the blackfly larvae stuck to the algae, happily using fans on either side of their heads to filter and collect broken bits of algae and detritus. The larvae, he says, look like tiny zucchini. Mayfly larvae also thrive on high levels of nutrients, he says. In fact, mayflies have to take their nutrients while they can. When they metamorphose into adults, they have no digestive tract and never eat again.
Mayflies emerge as adults, mate, and lay their eggs in the space of about three days.
Then they die. McCrae Creek, in contrast to McIntyre Creek, is clear and smaller mountain creek, with lower levels of nutrients and high levels of oxygen. The creatures Godin found in McCrae Creek prefer that kind of environment. Stoneflies are particularly sensitive to the oxygen content of the water, says Godin. The gills are little tufts of what looks like hair under their legs.