INVESTIGADORES
DOMINGUEZ Eduardo
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
An update on the history of mayflies (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) in literature and fine arts
Autor/es:
STANICZEK, ARNOLD H.; DOMÍNGUEZ, EDUARDO
Lugar:
Turin
Reunión:
Congreso; 2024 JOint meeting of the XVII International Conference on Ephemeroptera and XXI International Sympoisum on Plecoptera; 2024
Institución organizadora:
Universita di Torino and Universidad de Granada
Resumen:
At the International Conference in Ephemeroptera in Laussane in 1995, Tomás Soldan gave an overview of the oldest mentions of mayflies in literature. Here, we review his contribution and present further ancient mentioning of mayflies in literature. Additionally, we also have a look at historic depictions of mayflies in fine arts and the beginnings o scientific mayfly illustrations. As a result, we show that mayflies were already known to mankind for more than 4500 years. This is most striking, especially as mayflies have never been in the focus of mankind like economically important pests or beneficial insects like locusts or bees. On the other hand, despite being a metaphor for the briefness of life, there are only few records of mayflies in historic fine arts. We critially evaluate if these are indeed mayflies or rather figure different insects. However, the oldest painting of mayflies we found only dates back to the 16th century.