Scorpion Fly (Panorpa communis)

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wallaby1 Lincoln, United Kingdom(Zone 8a) Jul 28, 2006

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pford1854 Somerset, KY(Zone 6b) Oct 09, 2007

Ugh. I see what you mean.... nasty.

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wallaby1 Lincoln, United Kingdom(Zone 8a) Oct 09, 2007

I wondered what stuck the flies to the plant, it might have been stealing spiders dinners!

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pford1854 Somerset, KY(Zone 6b) Oct 09, 2007

Hum, yea. Good question.
Although I've seen flies attached to plants like this before.
I've always thought that the flies kind of died that way.
Look at the fly to the right of the Scorpion fly. See how its legs are wrapped around the leaf? I just thought that the flies sucked the plant - and it poisoned them that way.
But that is definitely NOT a scientific deduction.

I also see spider web around the top of that plant.
You also could be right -- that the spider killed them.
From what I've read, I'm leaning more toward the Scorpion fly as being a scavenger rather than a predator. But I also do not know for sure.

Very interesting insect.

Thanks again for the feedback.

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wallaby1 Lincoln, United Kingdom(Zone 8a) Oct 09, 2007

I have seen other flies stuck to leaves, but not like these, as you noticed they look to be 'webbed' on. There are all sorts of predators I have been noticing this year that eat flies, wasps and Robber flies to name a couple.

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