Bittacidae, Handlirsch, 1906

Somma, Louis A. & Dunford, James C., 2008, Preliminary Checklist of the Mecoptera of Florida: Earwigflies, Hangingflies, and Scorpionflies, Insecta Mundi 2008 (42), pp. 1-9 : 2

Bittacidae - Hangingflies

Four species of bittacids, all in the genus Bittacus Latreille , have been collected in Florida. Two of these, Bittacus pilicornis Westwood and Bittacus punctiger Westwood , are somewhat common and previously recorded from the state ( Carpenter 1935; Byers 1954, 1973b; Webb et al. 1975). Bittacus pilicornis , the hairy-horned hangingfly, is found in northern Florida, as far west as Jackson County in the eastern panhandle and as far south as Alachua County; while B. punctiger ( Fig. 1 ), the spotted hangingfly, is found statewide ( Table 1). The two specimens of B. punctiger from Miami-Dade County (Fuch’s Hammock, near Homestead, 11-12 May 1980, one male collected by T. S. Dickel and H. V. Weems, Jr.; and Everglades National Park, 5 May 1961, one female collected by F. W. Mead), and perhaps the single specimen from an undescribed locality in Monroe County (25 June 1964, one male collected by K. J. Stone), represent the southernmost records for this species in the continental United States. Say’s hangingfly, Bittacus stigmaterus Say , is only represented by a single specimen from the Florida panhandle, Liberty County (Torreya State Park, 20 August 1987, one male collected by C. Porter and L. A. Stange), and two other specimens from the northern peninsula, Alachua County (Gainesville, 1 October 1940, one individual missing an abdomen collected by T. Hubbell; and unspecified locality, 16 October 1951, one female collected by “G. E. N.”) ( Table 1). These are first state records for B. stigmaterus in Florida. A single specimen of Bittacus texanus Banks , the Texas scorpionfly, was collected in Citrus Center west of Lake Okeechobee, Glades County, Florida ( Carpenter 1931; Byers 1993), but no specimens exist in FSCA. As this record is greatly disjunct from the more westerly range of this species ( Carpenter 1931; Webb et al. 1975), and no other records for Florida exist of which we are aware, we are not clear whether B. texanus is indigenous to the state or if this represents a single nonindigenous record. Byers (1993) suspects that the label locality data for this specimen are erroneous.

Figures

Figure 1-4. 1) Habitus of male Bittacus punctiger, spotted hangingfly, from Alachua County, Florida. Image by James C. Dunford. 2) Habitus of male Panorpa lugubris, black scorpionfly, from unknown locality, Florida. Image by Gary J. Steck. 3) Habitus of male Panorpafloridana holotype, Florida scorpionfly,from Alachua County, Florida. Image by James C. Dunford. 4) Habitus of male Panorpa americana, American scorpionfly, from Liberty County, Florida. Image by James C. Dunford.