Negha inflata

[kevinkk]

I haven't seen one of these for quite some time, so long in fact, that this one is going into a glass case.
Apparently in the USA, only found in the "western" states. The common name for this is "snake fly"
If I hadn't been worried about losing it, I'd have tried for a better picture.

Negha inflata 2025.JPG (53.6 KiB) Viewed 113 times

[livingplanet3]

Interesting! I'm confident I've never seen a snakefly of any kind; plenty of mantidflies, but I've only ever seen snakeflies from photos. I've not yet seen a scorpionfly, either.

[Trehopr1]

That is indeed a very "cool" find kevin. I have certainly never seen one. I have only encountered a couple of mantid flies in all my years of personal collecting. Funny, how some insects shown in common insect guides turn out to be so infrequently encountered in life...

[kevinkk]

Funny, how some insects shown in common insect guides turn out to be so infrequently encountered in life...

Exactly.
So many cool bugs I looked at pictures of, and probably won't see alive, I just found my first waterscorpion in 2022, and a person might think Mole crickets are everywhere. Maybe it's the "wow" factor to entice interest.

Here is a better picture, a little refrigeration slowed it down.

Snake fly '25.JPG (32.15 KiB) Viewed 82 times