Can anyone identify this British insect?

I found it whilst on holiday in the south-west of England. It's a hot day in the garden of a house in the countryside. There is grass, trees and other little bugs around, as well as lots of flowers.



It looks like a cranefly, but with a thicker abdomen and a more bulbous thorax. It is black with yellow flecks/stripes along its back and orange legs. It makes a deep droning sound, like a very butch bee. Most distinctively, it holds the end of its tail bent upwards, with a very pointy sting-like needle at the end (it looks like a sting on a jewel wasp - big and pointy - but may just be a bluff or sexual parts). I have it in a reptile tank now, just in case it's an illegal immigrant (I've never seen anything like this in my life!) but I don't want to keep it as a prisoner for too long - can anyone help me?

Can anyone identify this British insect?
Try scorpionfly, Order Mecoptera. They have four wings and

tend to curl the abdomen up as you describe. The males in

particular have genital apparatus at the end of the abdomen

that varies in form with the kind of scorpionfly.
Reply:Hi

I live in England (southeast) but cant say ive seen an insect like that. Ive looked online for alsorts to find any that match your discription but haven't had much luck. If you want to contact me through yahoo i will give you my email addy. You can send me a picture of it and i can ask my dads friend as he's very much into all insects of differnt sorts. He MIGHT know?
Reply:With the curled up pointy stinger, it sounds somewhat like a scorpion. There are smaller insects in N.A that resemble a small scorpion, I have seen them and they do have the pincher type of front legs or claws if you will...like the scorpions but these smaller scorpion looking insects are a type of earwig I was told. These colors have me confused though...