''Panorpa communis'', the common scorpionfly, is a species of

scorpionfly Mecoptera (from the Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an order of insects in the superorder Endopterygota with about six hundred species in nine families worldwide. Mecopterans are sometimes called scorpionflies after their lar ...

Distribution

This species is native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(mostly) and

Northern Asia North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and is coextensive with the Asian part of Russia, and consists of three Russian regions east of the Ural Mountains: ...

Habitat

These scorpionflies can be usually found in

hedgerow A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoini ...

s and patches of

nettle {{redirect, Nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus ''Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" include ...

Description

''Panorpa communis'' can reach a body length of about .UK Safari
/ref> The common scorpionfly has a black and yellow body, with a reddish head and tail. The male has a pair of

clasper In biology, a clasper is a male anatomical structure found in some groups of animals, used in mating. Male cartilaginous fish have claspers formed from the posterior portion of their pelvic fin which serve to channel semen into the female's c ...

s at the end of its tail (for holding the female during mating), giving it a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

-like appearance, although it is not a stinger. The adult insect has a wingspan of about , with wings that are mostly clear, but have many dark spots or patches. Its head, mounted with large eyes, is drawn into a prominent, downward pointing beak, which opens at the tip of its head. In the female, the eighth abdominal segment is the shortest, almost twice shorter than the seventh; the sixth is narrowed towards the back. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

resembles a

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

and grows up to long. It has three pairs of thoracic legs and eight pairs of

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...

Biology and habits

The adult is seen between May and September. They eat dead insects (although they sometimes eat live

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s), sometimes taking them from

spider web A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spid ...

s and plant sap."food" i
uksafari.com
/ref> Although fully winged, the adults rarely fly very far and spend much of their time crawling on vegetation in damp, shaded places near water and along hedgerows. ''Panorpa communis'' is a

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

species. Eggs are laid in soil annually and the larvae both scavenge and

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

te there.

Gallery

File: Panorpa communis copula.jpg, Mating (female on the right) File:Detail of Panorpa communis.jpg, Head detail File: Panorpa.vulgaris.wing.detail.jpg, Wing detail File: Skorpionsfliege Panorpa communis male genital.jpg, Male genitalia File:Panorpa vulgaris - 2010-07-15.ogv, Video clip

References

External links

* Peter Holden, Geoffrey Abbot
RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife
* Bloomsbur
Concise Garden Wildlife Guide
{{Authority control Scavengers Mecoptera Insects of Europe Insects described in 1758 Neuroptera of Europe Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus