Helena’s scorpionfly

Helena’s scorpionfly is the most abundant and widely distributed common scorpionfly of the genus Panorpa in North America. However, it does not occur in the west, it is absent from Quebec, and it is uncommon in Ontario.

The body is soft, slender, cylindrical, and ⅜″ to 1″ long. The upper plate covering the thorax (pronotum) has an orangish tint. The abdomen is slender and has 10 segments. On the male, segments 2 through 5 are pale brown, 6 through 9 are orangish brown. The male genitalia on segment 10 are large, bulbous, pear-shaped, and curved upward and forward. They are similar in appearance to a scorpion’s stinger. The female abdomen is similar to the male but tapers to a blunt point and lacks the stinger-like genitalia on segment 10.

The legs are long, slender, and pale brown. At the end of the leg the part corresponding to the foot (tarsus) has five segments (tarsi) and two claws. The tarsi are blackish at the end (apex).

The head is orangish-brown and extremely elongated downward, snout-like, ending in biting mouthparts. The neck is distinct. The compound eyes are large, well-developed, and silvery gray. The antennae are thread-like, black, and long, more than half as long as the body, and have at least 14 segments.

The four wings are long, narrow, membranous and yellowish. Forewings and hindwings are about the same size. They have numerous veins and cross veins; three dark brown bands, apical, pterostigmal, and basal; and three dark brown spots. The apical and pterostigmal bands are continuous. The basal band is usually continuous, sometimes broken. There is a small spot on the margin in the clear area separating each band, and one small basal spot.

The larvae resemble small caterpillars, with eight short leg-like structures (prolegs) and numerous hair-like growths (setae).

Total length: ½″ to 1″

Wingspan: up to 1⅛″

Moist areas with dense low shrubbery, especially deciduous woods and adjacent open areas

May to September

They are usually found standing on leaves in a shaded area less than one meter from the ground.

Despite the male’s fierce appearance, scorpionflies do not sting or bite.

Eggs are laid in masses on the ground. Larvae live in burrows in the ground, coming out only to hunt for insect prey. They overwinter in underground cells as pupae. Adults emerge in May.

Organic matter and insects.

Mostly dead or dying insects, sometimes taken from a spider’s web; sometimes fruit or nectar