FAMILY PANORPID/E 



The representatives of this family in the United States are all 

 contained in the genera Panorpa, Bittacus and Boreus. The true 

 scorpion flies are very common insects in midsummer in most 

 parts of the United States. Some of them have beautiful, spotted 

 wings and are seen flying in the bright sunlight in places where 

 tall herbage abounds. At my country place in the Catskill Moun- 

 tains they are extremely abundant towards the end of July, flying 

 from one blackberry bush to another and resting frequently upon 

 the golden-rod plants. All Panorpids are carnivorous, but Pan- 

 orpa has not been observed in this country to capture other 

 insects as does Bittacus. The development of these insects was 

 unknown until the Austrian entomologist, Brauer, in 1863, suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining eggs and rearing the insect. The larvae of 

 Panorpa and Bittacus are found near the surface of the ground 

 and feed upon dead animals, including such soft-bodied insects 

 as caterpillars and grubs. The other genus, Boreus, is composed 

 of wingless forms which look something like minute wingless 

 grasshoppers. They occur in winter upon snow in our Northern 

 States. 



Life History of a Scorpion Fly 



(Panorpa rufescens Ramb.^ 



This species, which is common in our Northern States, is the 

 first Panorpid to be carefully studied in this country. It was 

 found commonly at Ithaca, N. Y., in the summer of 1895, by 

 Dr. E. P. Felt, flying in moist woods during July and August and 

 especially along streams and where nettles abounded. After con- 

 fining several females in breeding cages the eggs were obtained. 

 They were laid in an irregular mass, were yellowish white in color, 

 from twenty-four to twenty-nine in each cluster, and from i cm. 

 to 2 cm. below the surface of the ground. The earth was moist 



207 



