Scorpionfly, a scorpion-like insect
Even though it has a tail like a scorpion, it turns out that the scorpionfly has no kinship with scorpions at all.
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The scorpion is a segmented animal with eight legs which belongs to the Order Scorpiones family in the Arachnida class. It is known that there are 2,000 types of scorpions that live on the surface of this earth's crust. The scorpions that we usually encounter are black scorpions that appear on the mainland during the rainy season.
Nature holds so many secrets that sometimes we ourselves don't suspect their existence. For example, the animals that we will discuss this time. Have you ever heard of a flying scorpion before? Of course you can't just imagine it, right?
Apparently, not all scorpions are scary. Flying scorpions are definitely not so foreign to our ears, some of us even just know about the existence of this unique animal. Removing curiosity in the head, let's discuss thoroughly!
Scorpionfly or scorpion fly is another name for a flying scorpion which has wings like flies, also has a tail like a scorpion. Not only that, the mouth that resembles a beak is another feature of this animal.
Even though it has a tail like a scorpion, the scorpionfly has no kinship at all with the animal which is famous for its poison in its tail. In fact, this animal is closely related to the Siphonaptera order, one of whose animals is fleas, even though these flies are called insects.
Unlike scorpions which use their tails to poison their enemies, the function of the tail on the scorpionfly turns out to be to assist the breeding process. The wings it has don't seem to be used often. The animal will flap its wings forcedly if it wants to find food elsewhere.
Scorpion flies are yellowish-black with a reddish head pattern. This insect can reach a body length of 30 mm and a wingspan of up to 35 mm. Flying scorpions are all-eating animals, aka omnivores. Some experts say that these insects can eat human corpses, but what is certain is that their food is in the form of dead or dying insects, and also rotting plants.
Found on several continents, Indonesia, which is included in the Asian continent, is one of the places where the most identified species of scorpion flies are found.
Image source: Scorpionfly Image | commons.wikimedia.org
