Newly discovered species of scorpionfly from Nepal named Lulilan

Zoologist Professor Rainer Willmann, former Director of the Zoological Museum at the University of Göttingen, has described and classified previously unknown species of scorpionflies from Nepal. These species belong to a completely new genus, for which Willmann introduced the name “Lulilan”. The appearance of the newly discovered scorpionflies could hardly be more bizarre.

The males have a spindly, extremely elongated abdomen, at the end of which is a large organ – with long, grasping pincers – for mating. The insects have a body length of more than three centimeters, meaning they are particularly large. The insects were captured by the Mainz zoologist Professor Jochen Martens and his colleague from Stuttgart Dr Wolfgang Schawaller. Until now, only one such species was known and that was discovered exactly 200 years ago.

Despite their dangerous-sounding name, scorpionflies are completely harmless to humans. Their name comes from their spherical genital segment, which looks like the sting of a scorpion. They also have a distinctive, elongated head.