Snakefly - the Raphidoptera

An adult female snakefly in my wildflower garden at home.

The first time I saw a snake fly, I had to ask myself, "What the heck is that?"  I have always been pretty good at determining insect orders, but this one had me stumped.  I may have seen another one since, but I am certain I came across one last week in my wildflower garden at home.  I knew immediately what it was.

The Raphidoptera, otherwise known as snakeflies, are insects with about 206 species known worldwide.  There are about 22 species present in North America, according to the website "Bugguide.net."  Both larvae and adults feed on other insects or their eggs; they are beneficial for the gardener.  The fact that I had one on my wildflower plants was good; the adults have an appetite for aphids.

The snakefly above is a female; she has a long ovipositor that projects behind the abdomen.  Males lack such an appendage.  The appendage is used to lay eggs in tiny crevices under leaf litter, or sometimes under the bodies of mature scale insects.  The insect undergoes complete metamorphosis, but with a twist.  Instead of the pupal stage being dormant awaiting the liberation of an adult, the pupae are foraging creatures with functional mouthparts.  

I took this photo with my cell phone camera, you can see the blog on it by clicking here.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com