Hi everyone, I found this strange flying Insect on my friends living room wall up In Scotland about a fortnight ago. As you can see, It Is shaped like a Glider & had what looked like stingers at the back end. It was only just over an Inch either way round. I've never seen anything remotely like It.
It's a cranefly of some type. They don't have stingers, it's just part of their anatomy. Completely harmless, so no worries.
Another possibility is a plume moth (family Pterophoridae) -
http://www.hantsmoths.org.uk/species/1504.php
Crane flies very seldom rest with their wings straight out as shown in the image provided. A clearer photo would help resolve the issue.
that's true considering the tapering at the end of the wings.
sorry about the image, I'm not a very good photographer! Heres another bad photo. lol
I honestly do'nt think It was a Plume Moth, although the shape was very much the same. it did not have the feathery wing like shape, more like a Stick Insect. Weird.
Not all have "feathery" wings.
Like this one I photographed:
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/061/e/2/6_24_09_Emmelina_monodactyla_4_by_DeviantLadyAshley.png
The second photo appears to show an upturned abdomen, which would be more typical of a plume moth than a crane fly.
Thankyou, Ladyashleyer, I think thats It. mystery solved. Thankyou to everyone.
The featheryness of the wings is often hidden when the wings are closed. Here is a picture I took of a plume moth at rest:
and here is the same insect, photographed just a moment later while it was flapping its wings (the flash manages to freeze the wing movement). The hind wings at least now look feathery:
