Abstract
The Mecoptera are represented in Canada by 25 extant species in four families, an increase of three species since the prior assessment in 1979. An additional 18 or more species and one family are expected to occur in Canada based on distributional records, recent collections and DNA analyses. The Barcode of Life Data System currently lists 24 Barcode Index Numbers for Canadian Mecoptera. There are nine species of fossil Mecoptera known from Canada.
Highlights
The Mecoptera are represented in Canada by 25 extant species in four families, an increase of three species since the prior assessment in 1979
The order is represented in the fossil record dating back to the Permian about 200 million years ago (Webb et al 1975)
Several early Eocene fossil species were recently discovered in British Columbia (Archibald 2005, 2009, 2010, Archibald et al 2013)
Summary
The Mecoptera are represented in Canada by 25 extant species in four families, an increase of three species since the prior assessment in 1979. Commonly known as scorpionflies or hangingflies, is one of the smaller insect orders with about 600 extant species in nine families worldwide (Penny 1997). The paleobiology database (https://fossilworks.org) currently lists a total of 686 species in 40 families globally, 30 species from North America and nine of those found in Canada.
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