Panorpa communis con presa

Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Mandibulata
Clase: Insecta
Subclase: Holometabola
Orden: Mecoptera
Familia: Panorpidae

El cuerpo es negro y amarillo con la cabeza y el extremo del abdomen de color rojizo. Miden unos 2 centímetros de longitud y cerca de 3.5 de envergadura alar. El abdomen de las hembras tiene el final puntiagudo, mientras que el de los machos luce los últimos segmentos doblados hacia arriba y con forma de pinza con la que rodea a la hembra durante la cópula.
Los adultos vuelan entre mayo y septiembre. La puesta tiene lugar en el suelo y las larvas, similares a orugas, se desarrollan entre la hojarasca y llegan a medir dos centímetros.
Todas las panorpas se alimentan de cadáveres y de otros insectos que cazan al vuelo. Tienen unas poderosas mandíbulas masticadoras en el extremo de su alargado rostro en forma de pico.

En Ingles:
The common scorpionfly has a black and yellow body, with a reddish head and tail. In the male has a pair of claspers at the end of its tail (for holding the female during mating), giving it a scorpion-like appearance, although there is no stinger. It has a wingspan of about 35mm. The head is drawn into a prominent, downward pointing beak, with the mouthparts at the tip. The eyes are large. The wings are mostly clear, but have many dark spots or patches.
The larva resembles a caterpillar and grows up to 20mm long. it has three pairs of thoracic legs and eight pairs of prolegs. The adult is seen between May and September, and can be usually found in hedgerows and patches of nettle. They eat dead insects (although they sometimes eat live aphids), sometimes stealing them from spider webs.[2] the adults rarely fly, instead preferring to crawl over their leafy habitat in search of their food.
Although fully winged, the adults rarely fly very far and spend much of their time crawling on vegetation in damp, shaded places near water and along hedgerows. Eggs are laid in soil annually and the larvae both scavenge and pupate there.