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Scorpion Flies

(Order Mecoptera.)

The curious insects of this order are ordinarily called scorpion flies, although this term applies strictly only to those of the genus Panorpa which have the genital organs of the male adult curiously enlarged and modified so as to resemble the tail of a scorpion. Mecopterous insects have four wings with many veins. The most striking peculiarity is the great prolongation of the head into a stout beak-like organ at the end of which are biting mouth-parts. The metamorphoses are complete. Only one family is contained in this order.