Scorpion fly

2 June 2020

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.(LINK)