| Panorpa vulgaris | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Mecoptera |
| Family: | Panorpidae |
| Genus: | Panorpa |
| Species: | P. vulgaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Panorpa vulgaris Imhoff & Labram, 1845 | |
Panorpa vulgaris, also known by its common name meadow scorpionfly is a species from the genus Panorpa . [1] [2] [3] The species was first described in 1845. [4]
P. vulgaris are commonly distributed throughout central Europe. [5] They prefer dry and warm habitats that provide shade at high temperatures [6] and are most abundant along the edges of low-lying shrubs. [7] Despite their environmental preference, smaller populations do occur in forested areas that experience moist and cool conditions. [6]
Meadow scorpionfly larvae have stemmata. [8] In adult individuals the cytoplasm of their neuron cells located within the eye become reduced with aging, resulting in decreased vision [9]
Adult individuals are often considered weak flyers [10] due to deterioration of tissues with increasing age. [9] Flight musculature degenerates over time due to the combination of deformed mitochondria and hypertrophy of connective tissues. [9]
In early developmental stages larvae decrease their amount of hemocytes when transitioning into pupae. [11] This is hypothesized by the distribution of resources to reproductive structures. [11] Females are considered to have better immunity. [1] Females have higher amounts of hemocytes and increased lysosomal activity in their hemolymph compared to males. [1]
Individuals of both sexes are capable of foraging for food, they are heavily influenced by their environments. [12] Intraspecific and interspecific competition is common between and within both sexes when food sources are limited. [10] Both larvae and adults typically feed on dead arthropods, and adults are often kleptoparasites of spider webs. [10] Adults are generally capable of avoiding spiderwebs when feeding on prey. [10] Males will use their genital claspers and females will use their abdomens to remove prey from spider webs and will even strike spiders who attempt to interfere with them. [10]
The meadow scorpionfly develops two separate generations per year, [6] one generation that undergoes overwintering in early spring and another that experiences a diapause free-developing stage in the summer. [6] [13] During their lifecycle individuals can survive up to two months. [14] ] [15]
Females meadow scorpionflies are known to be polyandrous, allowing them to make multiple mating attempts with numerous males. [16] Some females have shown evidence of being capable of mating with up to nine different males. [12] [16] During mating, males will attach themselves to one of the females forewings with their genital claspers to remain connected until copulation is complete. [17] Male meadow scorpionflies provide nuptial gifts for their female counterparts. [12] [10] The gifts males provide are a series of salivary secretions and different types of carrion that the females will ingest as a nutrient source. [10] [16] In the males first generation salivary secretions are the main source of nuptial gifting. [10] During the second generation male salivary protein structures become depleted, [9] resulting in the use of carrion. [10] These nuptial gifts are both a mating effort and a form of paternal investment. [16] The duration of copulation between males and females is determined by the amount of saliva a male is able to produce. [12] While mating males will continuously transfer sperm to females until nuptial gifts are completely consumed. [16] The sperm transferred by males will eventually compete with other ejaculates from other males by the means of the raffle principle. [16] Since saliva production is a significant energy investment, it can be a quality indicator of male health. [15] [12] Females will further discriminate between different males based on the amount of saliva provided. [12] The amount of saliva a female receives during mating directly influences the amount of offspring she is able to produce. [16] Males will also be selective of females based on the amount of offspring a female will be able to produce. [15] [12] [16] Inherently, males are capable of influencing the quality or the amount of ejaculate that they provide to females based on their bias. [12]