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Panorpa communis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The "Common Scorpionfly"
Body Length: 10 to 15mm Wingspan: 27 to 33mm.
Season: May to September
Widespread and common throughout the U.K. although rare in Northern Scotland.
Habitat: Hedgerows and wood edges, especially where spider cobwebs can be found in the brambles or nettle beds. The Scorpion fly mostly feeds on dead or dying insects, which they frequently steal from spider webs but will also feed on live aphids and the juices from bird droppings. Although having wings they spend most of their time hunting in vegetation low to the ground.
There are four Panorpa species in Britain and they are not easy to distinguish apart, as close examination is needed with the aid of a good hand lens or better still a microscope. Here I presume are images of Panorpa communis, but cannot be 100 per cent certain.
P. germanica has a thickened parallel hypovalves on the male genital capsule, on P. communis this is more calliper shaped. Females are much harder to identify between the species, to be certain a microscope will have to be used, unfortunately this can only be done on a dead specimen which is not what Wildlife Natural images are about. The other two species not mentioned are P. cognata and the uncommon P. Panorpa.
Mating takes place usually at night time, this is a precarious time for the male as the female may kill him while trying to mate. To make this less likely he will present her a drop of his saliva as a gift equivalent to a box of chocolates in the world of Scorpion flies. The male has a pair of claspers at the end of his tail which enables him to hold the female during the mating process. It is this part of the male’s tail that derives the scorpion-flies common name because visually it resembles a stinger, which it is not.
Panorpa communis is a Univoltine species (producing a single brood of eggs in one season which are capable of hibernating throughout the winter months)
The eggs are laid in the soil annually, here the larvae will scavenge and eventually pupate into adults, only one generation occurs each year.
Scorpion flies are known as 'Mecopterans' which date back more than 250 million years. This makes it possible to believe many other insects including butterflies have evolved from their ancestors.
Read MoreThe "Common Scorpionfly"
Body Length: 10 to 15mm Wingspan: 27 to 33mm.
Season: May to September
Widespread and common throughout the U.K. although rare in Northern Scotland.
Habitat: Hedgerows and wood edges, especially where spider cobwebs can be found in the brambles or nettle beds. The Scorpion fly mostly feeds on dead or dying insects, which they frequently steal from spider webs but will also feed on live aphids and the juices from bird droppings. Although having wings they spend most of their time hunting in vegetation low to the ground.
There are four Panorpa species in Britain and they are not easy to distinguish apart, as close examination is needed with the aid of a good hand lens or better still a microscope. Here I presume are images of Panorpa communis, but cannot be 100 per cent certain.
P. germanica has a thickened parallel hypovalves on the male genital capsule, on P. communis this is more calliper shaped. Females are much harder to identify between the species, to be certain a microscope will have to be used, unfortunately this can only be done on a dead specimen which is not what Wildlife Natural images are about. The other two species not mentioned are P. cognata and the uncommon P. Panorpa.
Mating takes place usually at night time, this is a precarious time for the male as the female may kill him while trying to mate. To make this less likely he will present her a drop of his saliva as a gift equivalent to a box of chocolates in the world of Scorpion flies. The male has a pair of claspers at the end of his tail which enables him to hold the female during the mating process. It is this part of the male’s tail that derives the scorpion-flies common name because visually it resembles a stinger, which it is not.
Panorpa communis is a Univoltine species (producing a single brood of eggs in one season which are capable of hibernating throughout the winter months)
The eggs are laid in the soil annually, here the larvae will scavenge and eventually pupate into adults, only one generation occurs each year.
Scorpion flies are known as 'Mecopterans' which date back more than 250 million years. This makes it possible to believe many other insects including butterflies have evolved from their ancestors.
