General Description

Body black and orange with narrow, transparent wings. Long legs with claws on the end. Body up to 2 cm long.

Biology

Scorpion Fly males hang on to vegetation by their front legs and use their hindlegs to catch passing insects. The male presents the female with an insect offering before they mate. The female drops cube-shaped eggs on the ground and when the caterpillars (larvae) hatch, they feed on dead insects. They are not true flies.

Distribution

South-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Habitat

On leafy, herbaceous plants, low shrubs and occasionally grasses in moist areas.

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