Fig. 20. A male scorpion fly 



Panorpa sp., somewhat 



enlarged. 



Order MECOPTERA. 



The "scorpion flies" are a curious remnant of what I believe was the 



ancestral type from which the orders Hymenoptera and Diptera were 



developed. They have narrow, net-veined wings, the cross-veins rather 



few in number, laid flat across the back when at rest. The mouth parts 



are mandibulate and set at the end of a proportionately long beak, so 



that the order is readily recognizable. In 

 the males of "Panorpa" the abdomen is fur- 

 nished with a curiously jointed forceps, 

 curved upward so that it somewhat re- 

 sembles the tail and sting of a scorpion, and 

 tha't gives the order its common name. The 

 flies are predatory, and feed on a variety of 

 small insects. 



They are never common in my experience, 

 but are not really rare, and in some locali- 



ties are freely taken by collectors. The 



species of "Boreus" occur in late winter 



and very early spring, often on the surface 



of snow after a short period of mild weather. 

 The larvae are caterpillar-like in shape, 



have 8 pairs of fleshy pro-legs, live in damp 



soil and are predatory in habit. Taken as 



a whole., the order is of no economic im- 



portance, and none of the species are at any time injurious, directly or 



indirectly. 



PANORPA Linn. 



P. confusa Westw. Orange Mts., Lahaway, Anglesea VII, 20 (Coll). 

 P. maculosus Hagen. Hopatcong VII, 6, Del. Water Gap VII, 12, Green- 

 wood Lake V, 30, Lakehurst VII, 7 (Coll); Ft. Lee Dist. IX, 9 (Bno). 



P. nebulosus Westw. Del. Water Gap VII (Jn); Passaic VI, 8 (Coll); 

 Staten Island VI (Ds). 



P. rufescens Ramb. (debilis Westw.) Del. Water Gap VII (Jn); Little 



Falls (Ds); Woodbury V, 28, Pitman Grove VIII, 4 (Acad). 

 P. venosa Westw. Sparta VII (Ds). 



Fig. 21. Larva of a scorpion 

 fly enlarged. 



BOREUS Latr. 



B. brumalis Fitch. Staten Island XII, 6 (Ds) ; on snow, New York, ApriL 

 B. nivoriundus Fitch. New York, on snow, in early spring. 



IN 



(65) 



