Common Name - Hangingfly

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Mecoptera

Family: Bittacidae

Approximately 75% of all hangingflies belong to the family Bittacus.  Because of their large size, they are often confused with crane flies (Diptera), but they are quite different.  Crane flies have 2 wings and hangingflies have 4 wings.  Crane flies are often known as "mosquito hawks," however, they do not feed upon mosquitoes during their lifecycles, making their nickname a bit misleading.

Hangingflies are a specialized group of scorpionflies that use their front two legs to hang off stems, branches, and leaves of vegetation.  While hanging, their hind pairs of legs dangle below them, waiting for an insect to fly by them.  When an insect flies by, the hangingfly will grasp it with its hind legs and draw it up to the mouth, there the insects body fluids will be drained, and the husk of the body then discarded (like a spider).

Hangingflies are one of type of animal that utilizes "nuptial gifts."  During this process, males will capture insects and present them to females.  If she accepts the gift, the male will get to mate with the female.  The bigger the gift (like a moth or large fly) the longer he will get to mate with the female.  Bittacus strigosus (the striped scorpionfly) is one species of hangingfly that can be found in forested sites in North Dakota. Maybe these should be called "mosquito hawks" instead of crane flies!