Imre Potyó's Image

Standing in the dark on the bank of the River Danube, Imre was covered in fluttering mayflies. ‘It was a fantastic feeling,’ he says, ‘to be in the thick of their wonderful dance’. As the swarm peaked, Imre captured their movements with a continuous flashlight and long exposure.

This is the climax of a mass swarming – when the females lay their eggs on the water’s surface at the end of their brief adult lives. These mayflies are lucky – the glittering surface they are landing on is the river – many unfortunate females get attracted to the reflection of streetlights, laying their eggs in vain on roads and bridges.