scorpion-fly

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A neuropterous insect of the family Panorpidæ., and especially of the genus Panorpa: so called from the forceps-like apparatus at the end of the slender abdomen of the male, and the tendency of the abdomen to curl like the tail of a scorpion. P. communis is a European example. See cut under Panorpa.