Facts

"Scorpionfly" is applied to the whole order, even though the scorpion-like tail is only seen in the family Panorpidae (Marshall 2006).

The "sting" is the male genitalia and is harmless (except to the female scorpionfly) (Marshall 2006).

Fossil Mecoptera are among the oldest remains of insects with complete metamorphosis (Resh and Cardel 2003).

Panorpa first appear in the fossil record before the end of the Permian Period (295-248 million years ago).  This is one of the most primitive to have the pupal stage (O'Toole 2002).