Subject:  Identify red flying insect
Geographic location of the bug:  North florida
Date: 07/11/2020
Time: 03:51 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Red flying insect with legs like a mosquito and a curved back end with what looks like pinchers and tiger like wings:  Rudy caramadre

Scorpionfly

Dear Rudy,
This unusual looking insect is commonly called a Scorpionfly, and despite its name and appearance, it is quite harmless.  Based on information posted to BugGuide, all North American Scorpionflies are in the family Panorpidae and genus Panorpa.

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Subject:  this bug  is totally weird and awesome
Geographic location of the bug:  Sonoma county northern California
Date: 05/20/2018
Time: 12:12 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This bug was on a rose in my garden. Seems totally harmless, my son and I held it for a while, very cool little bug. Really want to know what it is.
How you want your letter signed:  Hannah Erickson

Wingless Scorpionfly

Dear Hannah,
We can’t agree with you more.  This insect is “totally weird and awesome” and at first we thought it might be a wingless Crane Fly, but we quickly realized its head looked more like that of a Scorpionfly, and we discovered Apterobittacus apterus, a Wingless Scorpionfly or Wingless Hanging Fly on BugGuide where the range is listed as “Central California; common in the San Francisco Bay Area” and the season is listed as “late March to early June.”  On the genus page, BugGuide states “The only completely wingless member of the family.”  There are also images posted to iNaturalist and Encyclopedia of Life.  Scorpionflies are not true flies, and they are harmless predators.

Wingless Scorpionfly

Wingless Scorpionfly

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Subject:  Unknown Flying Insect
Geographic location of the bug:  Fort Worth, Texas
Date: 10/24/2017
Time: 09:38 PM EDT
I came across this insect in the woods near Fort Worth.  I tried to find it on insect identification sites without success.  Please help
How you want your letter signed:  Steven Autry

Scorpionfly

Dear Steven,
Your images of this harmless Scorpionfly are gorgeous.  According to Bumblebee.org:  “Scorpion flies got their name because the tail end of the adult male’s abdomen is swollen and turns up to look like a scorpion …, but the insect is harmless. The swelling is actually the genital capsule. The female … is similar, but with a slim, straight abdomen. Both have the beautiful wing pattern seen in the photograph below.  The adults are scavengers feeding on dead insects, rotting fruit, and even bird droppings. They prefer shady locations, and as they are weak fliers they tend to crawl about on vegetation. Although they are not common insects the shape of the head and the tail, if you find a male, makes them easy to recognise.”

Scorpionfly

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Subject: WHat kind of bug
Location: Canadian, Oklahoma
October 12, 2016 2:55 pm
Not sure I’ve ever seen one like this before.
Signature: G Lynn

Scorpionfly

Dear G Lynn,
This is a marvelous image of a harmless Scorpionfly.  According to BugGuide:  “Adults feed mainly on dead/dying insects, rarely on nectar/fruit.”

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