Scorpions
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The strange but quite beautiful scorpion fly - this male's red tail is not for stinging, but is a set of claspers to use during mating.
Resting on nettles at Woods Mill nature reserve yesterday. I love their elegantly patterned wings :)
Macro Mondays-Beads
I love collecting Scorpions, that's my Astro-Sign! I really liked this one in particular.
Scientific name: Panorpa communis.
The scorpion fly, as its name suggests, has a curved 'tail' that looks like a sting. It is, in fact, the males' claspers for mating. It is yellow and black, with a long 'beak'. Look for it in gardens and woods. Info: The Wildlife Trusts.
Many thanks to people who view or comment on my photos.
Dominated by a bunch of Daffodils ..Myosotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially denominated forget-me-nots or Scorpion grasses...
Scientific name: Panorpa communis.
The scorpion fly, as its name suggests, has a curved 'tail' that looks like a sting. It is, in fact, the males' claspers for mating. It is yellow and black, with a long 'beak'. Info: The Wildlife Trusts.
Many thanks to people who view or comment on my photos.
This scorpion, seen on the island of Samos, Greece, is thought to be Mesobuthus gibbosus. Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping pedipalps and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger.
This was made from a 18 photo focus stack done in Zerene Stacker
ISO 250 / F/ 2.8 / 1/320th and all natural light : )
Tiny Scorpion 1.5cm/half an inch.
Growth 1.5cm - 4cm
Placed in a paper cup to take photos and set free.
This little mottled -scorpion is currently found throughout -southern Australia and probably represents -several species. Mainly associated with gum -forests, it is known to occasionally enter -people’s houses.
The scorpion fly, as its name suggests, has a curved 'tail' that looks like a sting. It is, in fact, the males' claspers for mating. It is yellow and black, with a long 'beak'. Look for it in gardens and woods.
The scorpion fly is a strange-looking insect that is found in gardens and hedgerows, and along woodland edges, particularly among Stinging nettles and bramble. It has a long, beak-like projection from its head that is uses to feed. It scavenges on dead insects and frequently steals the contents of spiders' webs. It lives up to its name by sporting a scorpion-like tail, which the male uses in courtship displays. Adults usually mate at night, but mating can be a dangerous game for the male, who might easily be killed by the female. So he presents her with a nuptial gift of a dead insect or a mass of saliva to placate her - the equivalent of a box of chocolates! The resulting eggs are laid in the soil and the emerging larvae live and pupate at the soil surface.
The scorpion fly has a black-and-yellow body, a reddish head with a long beak, dark patches on the wings, and a scorpion-like tail which does not sting (the male has two claspers at the end for mating). There is three species of scorpion fly that live in the UK, which are difficult to tell apart.
Distribution
Widespread.
Habitats
Scorpion flies belong to an ancient order of insects known as 'Mecoptera' which includes about 550 species worldwide. Mecoptera can be traced back to the Permian period, more than 250 million years ago, and are likely ancestors of butterflies and flies.
Scorpion Gulch is an old abandoned store at South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona. This rock wall building no longer has a roof.
This was a new beastie for me, both to see and to photograph. I don't think I'll forget it in a hurry
Something I learned during my visit to Phoenix was how the folks find and eliminate scorpions. Using a small blacklight (flashlight) at night, the light will illuminate the scorpion so they can be seen and sprayed. We found many more than I imagined was possible.
So even though this photo doesn't hold much detail for the those who like to examine pixels, it was still a cool shot for a nighttime, blacklight image. The background is a stucco wall.
Phoenix, Arizona
I've been finding out a bit more about these amazing looking insects. Though I haven't yet managed to get a shot that does the tail justice.
From the Wildlife Trust's page:
The scorpion fly is a strange looking insect which is found in gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges, particularly amongst nettles and Bramble. It has a long beak-like projection from its head that is uses to feed, scavenging on dead insects and frequently stealing the contents of spider's webs. It lives up to its name by sporting a scorpion-like tail, which the male uses in courtship displays. Adults usually mate at night, but mating can be a dangerous game for the male, who might easily be killed by the female. So he presents her with a nuptial gift of a dead insect or a mass of saliva to placate her - the equivalent of a box of chocolates! The resulting eggs are laid in the soil and the emerging larvae live and pupate at the soil surface.
Taken in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Thank you to everyone who views, faves or comments on my photos, it is always appreciated.
Turkey
The Panorpa aspoeki group (or species group) is predominately found in Turkey. While identification keys for the group are lacking, researchers rely on detailed morpholoigal analysis of the male genital structures and specific features like the caudal recess on the subgenital plate, to differentiate species.
Which means we will never know. !!!!!!
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