Mating scorpion flies on flowering tea tree shrub. Males feed females while mating.
Male scorpion flies give off pheromones to attract females from a distance, unlike other insects such as moths where females emit pheromones to attract males. Once the female is in sight he offers her a meal of a prey insect which he grips with his hind legs. During mating the female feeds from his offerings but the male usually doesn't loosen his grip because he may use the same prey insect more than once with more than one female. The male in the image at right is particularly solicitous because he is offering a blowfly and a hover fly to his female. Mating can last up to ten minutes
Size: 2831px × 4252px
Location: Pomonal, Victoria, Australia
Photo credit: © Denis Crawford / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: australia, harpobittacus, insect, mating, mecoptera, scorpionfly
