The male scorpion fly can attract females with a distinct chemical scent or pheromone. The male will then presents the female a gift; which could be food, a dead insect, and salivary mass. Then the male mates with the female as she is still eating. If the gift is food, it needs to be large enough to guarantee a sufficient time to mate. This can take anywhere up to 20 minutes, but it also requires at least 5 minutes for a proper transfer of sperm. If the female finds the gift that the male gave to her to be unsatisfactory, she will fly away and find another male. Males will often try to steal gifts such as insects, from other male scorpion flies. In worst case scenario, instead of offering a food gift, the male will sometimes grab the female and forcibly mate while holding the female down with his wings. Scorpion fly larvae are caterpillarlike and are generally found in leaf litter. Larvae undergo their transformation into adults just beneath the soil of the ground and they feed on dead and decaying organic matter.
Two Main Locations of the Scorpion Flies: Java, North America and Mexico.