What Living Creature Never Eats? (2 photos)

You'll probably say that's impossible. To live, a living creature must consume food in some form or fashion.

But there are some that truly don't...





Nature has denied the ability to consume food to mayflies (Ephemeroptera), of which there are over three thousand species. In the short lifespan of these aerial creatures, which usually lasts only a day, there's simply no time for gluttony. And while some insects can be considered "long-lived," capable of "lasting" even several days, while others are granted only hours, and sometimes even minutes, neither of them ever drinks a drop of nectar.

These representatives of the fauna don't even have a mouth, although, oddly enough, nature has provided them with a stomach and intestines, which remain filled with air. The life of mayflies is like a magical ball—gathering in the air by the hundreds in a living blizzard, they swirl like graceful dancers, resembling snowflakes.

The love whirlwind of these almost incorporeal creatures is a prelude to death, and it is undertaken solely for the continuation of the insect race. Having tasted love, not food, mayflies are doomed to die. The males perish first. Females live a little longer—they need time to lay eggs. Each female lays about 10,000 eggs, most of which die, and only a few hundred larvae will develop into mayflies after 2-3 years. And then it all starts again.