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Friday, February 17, 2012

Scorpion Fly - some interesting facts about them.

I have seen these insects on a few occasions, but the other day I got a pretty clear image of one of them - clear enough to decide to post about them.

Click to enlarge the image - to see it in detail.
A Scorpion Fly or Hanging Fly.
The Chew Family has an excellent pictorial coverage of these insects.

At first I thought my insect was a "Black Crane Fly" which I have seen previously when certain Orchids are in flower - a seasonal link perhaps.
But when I got a good look at it, I knew these amazing hooks on its legs were very distinctive. It had to be something different.

My memory told me to check "Scorpion Fly" on the Brisbane Insects and Spiders Webpage.
Bingo - up came those amazing images and their "back story" of how they capture their prey.
Fascinating.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thankyou Denis,

Lee Freeman.

Denis Wilson said...

Thanks Lee - for posing a comment. Good to know who drops by.
Cheers
Denis

Snail said...

Cool! Now there's something else to keep an eye out for around the place.

Denis Wilson said...

Not sure if they go for rainforest.
But they are certainly in the Brisbane region.
There's always something to find, under a leaf, under a rock, or up in the rafters.
Cheers
Denis

Flabmeister said...

Denis

The problem is not finding things to find, it is finding the time to find things.

While reading this post I noticed what appeared to be a red abdomened mosquito perched outside my study. So I grab the camera and spent 15 minutes pursuing it around the deck.

Results: nada. Apart from a slight feeling that it might have been a small bee rather than a large mosquito!

But still interesting and I will keep up the challenge!

BTW: my first validation word is 'serious': as I always am!

Martin