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Order Mecoptera - Scorpionflies Family Panorpidae: Scorpionflies, hangingflies and allies Live adult scorpionflies photographed in the wild at northern Illinois, USA. |
Male Scorpionfly, Panorpa sp.
| Mecoptera (from the Greek: meco- = "long", -ptera = "wings")
is an order of insects with about 550 species in nine families
worldwide. Mecoptera are sometimes called scorpionflies after
their largest family, Panorpidae, in which the males have
enlarged genitals that look similar to the stinger of a
scorpion. The Bittacidae, or hangingflies, are a prominent
family of elongate insects known for their elaborate mating
rituals, in which females choose mates based on the quality of
gift prey offered by various males. Recent DNA evidence[citation needed] indicates that fleas, which are traditionally considered an order as well (Order Siphonaptera), are instead highly specialized Mecoptera. Grouped together with the fleas, Mecoptera would have about 3000 species. |
