AY Honors/Insect/Mecoptera
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- Nannochoristidae
- Boreidae (snow fleas)
- Siphonaptera (fleas)
- Meropeidae (earwig flies)
- Eomeropidae
- Apteropanorpidae
- Choristidae
- Panorpodidae
- Bittacidae (hanging flies)
- Panorpidae (scorpion flies)
Mecoptera are an order of insects with about 600 species worldwide. Together with the Siphonaptera, or fleas, they have about 3000 species. Recent DNA evidence shows that fleas, which are traditionally considered to be also of order level, are highly specialized Mecoptera. Mecoptera are sometimes called scorpion flies after their largest non-flea family, Panorpidae, in which the males have enlarged genitals that look similar to the stinger of a scorpion. The Bittacidae, or hangingflies, are a prominent family of elongate insects known for their elaborate mating rituals, in which females choose mates based on the quality of gift prey offered by various males.
