Editing Mecoptera (section)

===Ecology===
[[File:Panorpa communis with prey Diogma glabrata glabrata.jpg|thumb|A [[Panorpidae|Panorpid]] scorpionfly feeding on a dead insect]]

Mecopterans mostly inhabit moist environments although a few species are found in semi-desert habitats. Scorpionflies, family Panorpidae, generally live in broad-leaf woodlands with plentiful damp leaf litter. Snow scorpionflies, family Boreidae, appear in winter and are to be seen on snowfields and on moss; the larvae being able to jump like [[flea]]s. Hangingflies, family Bittacidae, occur in forests, grassland and caves with high moisture levels. They mostly breed among mosses, in leaf litter and other moist places, but their reproductive habits have been little studied, and at least one species, ''[[Nannochorista philpotti]]'', has aquatic larvae.<ref name=Dunford/>

Adult mecopterans are mostly [[scavenger]]s, feeding on decaying vegetation and the soft bodies of dead invertebrates. ''[[Panorpa]]'' raid [[spider web]]s to feed on trapped insects and even the spiders themselves, and hangingflies capture flies and moths with their specially modified legs. Some groups consume [[pollen]], [[nectar]], [[midge]] larvae, [[carrion]] and moss fragments.<ref name=Dunford/> Most mecopterans live in moist environments; in hotter climates, the adults may therefore be active and visible only for short periods of the year.<ref name=IIBD/>