The common scorpionfly
The common scorpionfly is an yellow and black insect that live in bushes near the ground. It feeds on aphids.
The scorpionfly, a female.
A photo of Rika.
The mating of the common scorpionfly
During the mating the female is hold with a pair
of claspers at the end of the tail.
She is also feeded with a brown liquid by the male.
the food of the common scorpionfly
The scorpionfly hunts for live aphids.
They are sucked with the prominent, downward pointing beak,
which opens at the tip of its head. Small flies are also eaten.
The common and german scorpionfly
The common and german scorpionfly are lookalikes and
live on the same places. They are both very common.
They only differ in the black spots on the wings:
Those that belong to the common scorpionfly are large,
the German scorpionfly has small black spots.
common scorpionfly and its use
The common scorpion fly is used as a biological way to
reduce the amount of aphids in glasshouses.