Pentagenia, similar to Hexagenia, is a genus of insect in the family Ephemeridae, commonly referred to as burrowing mayflies.

[1] Unlike Hexagenia, which inhabit mostly lightly compacted silt substrates, most species of Pentagenia inhabit compacted clay substrates.

They also prefer faster flowing streams than Hexagenia.

The mandibular tusks are used to excavate an open burrow in the substrate where the mayfly resides, therefore the size and strength of the head differs between the two genera in correlation to the different substrates in which they burrow.

[2] These two species belong to the genus Pentagenia: Data sources: i = ITIS,[3] c = Catalogue of Life,[4] g = GBIF,[5] b = Bugguide.net[6]