Scorpionfly

Mecoptera is an order of insects with about six hundred species in nine families worldwide. Mecopterans are commonly called scorpionflies after their largest family, Panorpidae, in which the males have enlarged genitalia raised over the body that resemble a scorpion's stinger, along with long beaklike rostra. Another prominent family, the Bittacidae or hangingflies, is known for elaborate mating rituals in which females choose mates based on the quality of gift prey the males offer; a smaller group, the snow scorpionflies of family Boreidae, are sometimes seen walking on snowfields, while most other species in the order inhabit moist tropical environments.