Mecoptera of Ontario

Jumping mechanisms and performance of snow fleas (Mecoptera, Boreidae).

Flightless snow fleas (snow scorpion flies, Mecoptera, Boreidae) live as adults during northern hemisphere winters, often jumping and walking on the surface of snow. Their jumping mechanisms and performance were analysed with high speed imaging. Jumps were propelled by simultaneous movements of both the middle and hind pairs of legs, as judged by the 0.2 ms resolution afforded by image rates of...

Functional Wing Morphology and Aerodynamics of Panorpa Germanica (insecta: Mecoptera)

The functional wing morphology of the wings of the scorpion fly Panorpa germanica L. was investigated using a combination of light microscopy, high-speed cinematography, wing manipulation and mechanical testing. In rising forward flight the wings are flapped 40° out of phase along a shallow stroke plane, the forewings leading. Aerodynamic analysis suggests that unsteady effects are important in...

The earliest Mesopsychidae and revision of the family Mesopanorpodidae (Mecoptera)

The family Mesopanorpodidae is revised. Most taxa referred to this family are not related to the type genus Mesopanorpodes Tillyard, 1918. The type species of the latter, Mesopanorpodes wianamattensis,is closely related to Mesopsyche Tillyard, 1917. Therefore Mesopanorpodes is transferred to Mesopsychidae Tillyard, 1917 (= Mesopanorpodidae Tillyard, 1918, syn. n.).The earliest Mesopsychidae are...

A chromosomal investigation of four species of Chinese Panorpidae (Insecta, Mecoptera)

The male adults of four species of the Chinese Panorpidae in Mecoptera were cytogenetically studied using conventional squashing procedures. The results show that their sex-chromosome system belongs to the XO type, with n = 19 + X(O) in Panorpa emarginata Cheng, 1949 and Panorpa dubia Chou & Wang, 1981, n = 23 + X(O) in Panorpa sp., and n = 20 + X(O) in Neopanorpa lui Chou & Ran, 1981. X chromo...

Assessing Ontario ’