Keeping to the theme of strange macro life, I thought I would post these images of the Scorpian fly.
Despite the horrific name attached to these insects, they mainly eat dead animal matter or fruit. The common name is derived from the visual effect of the tip of the male abdomen curving up onto the top abdomen - scorpion like but without the sting
The female has a much more conventional abdomen.
The Scorpion fly prefers shady areas. It is not a True Fly (Order Diptera) but is a separate order Mecoptera as it has four wings and not two. The real distinguishing feature of species in this order is the downward extension of the head to form a strong beak.
The spotting on the wings varies between species with some not having any spots at all. It is very difficult to separate species and therefore I have only been able to identify these by their family name. There are about 400 known species world-wide with about 30 in Europe. The specimens photographed here are about 10mm long (body).
Comments always welcome and thanks for viewing.
Despite the horrific name attached to these insects, they mainly eat dead animal matter or fruit. The common name is derived from the visual effect of the tip of the male abdomen curving up onto the top abdomen - scorpion like but without the sting
The female has a much more conventional abdomen.
The Scorpion fly prefers shady areas. It is not a True Fly (Order Diptera) but is a separate order Mecoptera as it has four wings and not two. The real distinguishing feature of species in this order is the downward extension of the head to form a strong beak.
The spotting on the wings varies between species with some not having any spots at all. It is very difficult to separate species and therefore I have only been able to identify these by their family name. There are about 400 known species world-wide with about 30 in Europe. The specimens photographed here are about 10mm long (body).
Comments always welcome and thanks for viewing.
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