''Panorpa communis'', the common scorpionfly, is a species of
scorpionfly.
Distribution
This species is native to
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
(Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, and European Russia) and
Northern Asia.
Habitat
These scorpionflies can be usually found in
hedgerows and patches of
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:
* ball nettle ...
.
[
]
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 claspers at the end of its tail (for holding the female during mating),[ giving it a ]scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
-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. Females are longer, heavier, and have longer legs than males.
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 (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
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 ...
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 (biology), order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on larvae of insects such as symphyta, sawflies. In ...
s.
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 in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...
s), sometimes taking them from spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word ''Wikt:coppe, 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 ...
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 (; : 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 life cycle, the stages th ...
te there.[
]
Mating behavior
Males release pheromones and offer nuptial gifts to females in the form of saliva secretions and nuptial prey (usually dead arthropods).
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