There are more than 500 named species of of Mecoptera and they are among the oldest of they holometabolous (having a complete metamorphosis i.e. egg, larval instars which does not resemble the adult, pupa and then the adult or imago) insectsdating from the Lower Permian 250 million years ago.

They are described as; small to medium sized slender insects with long filiform antennae. The head is extended into a deflexed rostrum or beak with biting mouthparts at its end and is not broader than the front of the thorax, the eyes are prominent and semi-globose. The legs are long and slender, as are the 2 pairs of nearly equal wings which are also membraneous and clear with various dark patterns. The larva are generally eruciform (like a catapillar), but may be modified scarabeiform (grub like, with a well developed head, a thick cylindrical body and 3 pairs of thoracic legs, but no prolegs) i.e. Boridae and Panorpidae, or campodeiform (elongate and flattened with well developed legs and antennae) as in the Nanochoristidae. They have biting mouth parts and 3 pairs of thoracic legs. The pupa is exarate (having its appendages i.e. legs antennae etc. free outside of the main body of the pupa) and dectitious.

Larva are believed to be saprophagous (feeding on dead and decaying organic matter) on dead insects in general, often from a burrow excavated underneath the dead insect. The Nannochoristidae have aquatic larvae which prey on Chironimid larva. Some species are known to be herbivorous or partly so, the larva of various Boreids have been observed feeding on mosses
Larva pass through 4 instars before excavating a whole in the ground and becoming inert in it as a prepupa.

In the genus Panorpa choose one of three different mating strategies. 1) A male offers a female who has been attracted a food gift which she feeds on during copulation. 2) This is really a variant of 1 except that the male either finds a dead arthropod, feeds on it a bit then stands beside it while emitting his pheromone attractant, or he secretes a salivary mass onto a leaf or other suitable substrate then stands beside this and emits his pheromone. In both these cases as above copulation takes place while the female is feeding, either on the arthropod or on the salivary secretion. 3) This option is called forced copulation, a male using this stategy does not emit any pheromones or supply any food he simply rushes at her and attempts to mate often succeeding. After mating females become unreceptive to the male pheromone and begin laying eggs
Males compete for the arthropods both for their own use, or to use as gifts. It has been shown that only males which lose out in these competitions resort to forced copulation, further it has been shown that females prefer males with food gifts and that females mating with males that supply gifts lay more eggs than those mating in forced copulations.

In the genus Hylobittacus males first acquire a dead arthropod after feeding on it briefly he either discards it (in which case he seeks out another one) or holding the prey with his hind legs he flies from place to place, each time he stops he emits some of his pheromone and waits a short while for a female to respond. An attracted female starts to feed on the arthropod, if it is suitable she stays and copulation occurs. If for some reason she finds it unsuitable she flies of and looks for another male either immediately or after copulation has started but before sperm transfer has occurred. Males actively steal prey from one another and one of the variety of tricks males use to successfully pillage from each other is imitating a female.

Boreids lay their eggs singly among moss while female bittacids drop theirs to the ground while hanging by their for limbs from the vegetation.

 

 

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