Scorpionfly

Description:

While Scorpionfly seems like an aptly descriptive common name, this critter is neither a scorpion nor a fly. Despite its threatening appearance, a Scorpionfly is mainly a scavenger eating dead or dying insects.

Habitat:

Variable: low shrubs and ground cover in densely-vegetated woodlands, often near water or wet seeps; grasslands; cultivated fields; forest borders. Range: Eastern North America; Nearctic portion of Mexico; throughout Eurasia. (Via BugGuide) This particular individual was in our vegetable garden.

Notes:

This individual is a male. Males have odd curled abdomen, held in an upward recurved position, and the last segment is bulbous at the base and sharply pointed at the tip, like a scorpion's stinger. (via BugGuide)