Mecoptera or Scorpion flies By Myles and Ayesha

Introduction This is a Power Point all about “Scorpion Flies” have a good look through it and hope u like it and learn some new stuff! 

Basic Anatomy This is a dissected snow scorpion fly which is a special breed of the scorpion fly found mostly in Tasmania. Scorpion flies have a long segmented body called the thorax. The abdomen of the male curls around like a scorpion tail. It has 6 legs, the back ones being longer than the front ones. It has two pairs of wings which are large and lacy, the wings are usually clear with dark veins. It has a fairly long proboscis and two antennae.

Life Cycle A life cycle of Scorpion flies is varied because there are different species but in most cases the male attracts the female with pheromones (a kind of hormone that scorpion flies and maybe some other insects have) and offers her an insect meal he has previously caught. It is thought this food is required by the female to assist with egg development. Eggs are usually deposited in the soil or moist leaf litter, while some species are aquatic and eggs are laid in the water. Babies develop through 3 stages lasting approximately one month each before going into a cocoon for up to several months within a chamber in the soil. Adults hatch in spring or autumn depending on the type of scorpion fly they are!.

Global Presence Scorpion flies are distributed worldwide including the Northern polar regions. Many of the species of scorpion flies live in Australia or South East Asia including Indonesia. This diagram indicates where the scorpion fly is located in Australia. The red dots show most flies live in the Southern half of Australia, although there is a large population on the North Eastern tip of Queensland. There are nine families found around the world, they are; Nannochoristidae (Australia, New Zealand, South America), Bittacidae (cosmopolitan), Boreidae (Holarctic), Meropeidae (North America, Australia), Eomeropidae (South America), Apteropanorpidae (Tasmania), Choristidae (Australia), Panorpodidae (USA, Japan, Korea), Panorpidae (Holarctic, Oriental Region).

Habitat Scorpion flies would rather cool, moist environments and are common around mountain and coastal regions of the country, also some species are found in the more marshy areas of inland Australia. Adults can often be seen hanging from low vegetation waiting for a chance to capture passing prey with there 2 hind legs.

Harmful and Beneficial Species in the selected order All Species of Mecoptera is not harmful so instead i have just listed the species of Mecoptera! .Scorpion flies .Hanging flies .Bittacidae .Boreidae .Panorpodidae .Meropeidae. They all come from the “Panorpidae "family!

Where they exist in the food chain? Scorpion flies eat both plant and animal flesh . The adults and larvae of scorpionflies eat mostly dead insects. The adults are known to take insects trapped in spider webs. They also eat pollen, nectar, and fruit juice. Adults and larvae of snow scorpionflies eat mosses. Small-faced scorpionfly adults eat the top of leaves, but it is not known what their larvae eat. Water (aquatic) scorpionfly's larvae feed on the aquatic larvae of flies known as midges, but the food of the adults is unknown.

Local Species In Tasmania there is a snow scorpion fly, the Apteropanorpidae tasmania. Other species are found in Brisbane and Southern Australia and these are mainly from the family Nannochoristidae.

Something Unique Something Unique about the scorpion fly is that only the males have a tail shaped like a scorpion. The female only has a short looking stump. Males attract females with displays of wing and body movements, and many offer the females a special mating meal. It might be prey items and saliva. No species stings or bites so they are not dangerous to humans.

Adaptive and Defensive behaviours Adaptive - There would be 2 males fighting over a female and eventually one of them will win and will then have to attract the female with a mal or capture of some type! Defensive- if any of the other males go near a female when she is taken by some other male the 2 males will have a big fight and then who ever wins again will get the female.

Pictures There isn't any species that are rare or common because they are all pretty much rare, you are very lucky if you see one so then I'm just going to put up some pictures of scorpion flies! There isn't any species that are rare or common because they are all pretty much rare, you are very lucky if you see one so then I'm just going to put up some pictures of scorpion flies!

Thank you for watching, much appreciated Thank you for watching, much appreciated! Thank you again Myles and Ayesha!