#snakeflies

(i'll be tagging this with #pokedex entomology project for anyone who wants to keep up or follow along themselves!)

starting us off is raphidioptera, aka snakeflies!

Grubble (Bug/Rock) hatches from eggs laid on stony riverbeds. it hollows out pebbles with its hard, strong mandibles and wears them to protect it from birds and other bug pokemon

when it's time to evolve, a grubble will burrow into a large rock and become Castalys (Bug/Rock). what it lacks in mobility, it more than makes up for in defenses. it's sturdy enough to tank an earthquake, and its jaws can dish out a mean crunch

eventually, a castalys will break out of its stone shell, emerging as a Raphidrake (Bug/Dragon). it may look strange and unwieldy, but its sturdy grip and winding neck make it more than easy for raphidrake to catch its prey. ancient legends say there was once a raphidrake that was so gluttonous, it grew to the size of a wailord- before it became such a problem that a local hero had to slay it in battle

Image source: adult: Harsi Parker, license; larva: Nikita Kluge, license

Common name(s): snakeflies

Scientific name: order Rhaphidioptera

Can it hurt me?: I saw at least one source say the larvae can bite fairly hard if they get ahold of you, but you’re unlikely to run into them and they’re fairly small anyways so the most they can do is give a little pinch.

Can it hurt my plants?: The larvae do live under tree bark, but I can’t find anything that says they damage trees. The larvae actually hunt other insects, so they aren’t eating the tree they live in itself. Adults hunt plant pests such as aphids and are beneficial.

Should I kill it?: Nah, just leave them be, or if you found an adult inside, release them outdoors.

Coming up!

Snakeflies (Raphidioptera) are day-active insects that feed on soft-bodied arthropods. The females have a long, needle-like ovipositor. They get their name due to their prothorax which is elongated and kind of resembles a snake. They are found in North America (generally the Southern portion), Eurasia, and North Africa (1,2).

Snakeflies were once part of the Order Neuroptera, but that Order has since been broken into 3 orders:  Neuroptera ( Lacewings, Antlions & Mantidflies),  Megaloptera (Alderflies, Dobsonflies & Fishflies), and Raphidioptera (Snakeflies). They are a primative order of insects even still and follow a lifecycle of egg -> larva -> pupa -> adult (2).

They have a long courtship ritual which involves a cleaning procedure with their legs and antennae. This then is followed by one of two copulating positions where either the male hangs head first from the female or crawls under her and attaches his head at her fifth sternite. Mating lasts between a few minutes to 1.5 hours. However in some species it can even take up to 3 hours (1) .

Also, these guys are clumsy fliers (3).

Lastly, although scientists didn’t begin to really study them until 1735, there are wood-block carving printings of them as book illustrations as early as the seventeenth century (3).

References: 1, 2, 3

How to Draw a Snakefly with Pencils [Time Lapse]