Panorpa germanica (Linnaeus, 1758)

It seems I'm going for a run of British species to celebrate the return of spring (and thus the heightened activity of most of the native wildlife)...

So, with no further ado, on with the show:

Eukaryota
  Animalia
    Eumetazoa
      Bilateralia
        Nephrozoa
          Protostomia
            Ecdysozoa
              Arthropoda
                Hexapoda
                  Insecta
                    Dicondylia
                      Pterygota
                        Manopterygota
                          Neoptera
                            Eumetabola
                              Endopterygota
                                Panorpida
                                  Antliophora
                                    Mecoptera
                                      Panorpidae
                                        

Panorpa germanica 

(Linnaeus, 1758)

and here (Drumroll, please) it is: 

And while I agree that the photograph is not great, I have to opine (wonderful word) that this bizarre German Scorpionfly (by name only - it was photographed in Harting, in the UK, and is neither a scorpion nor a true fly), gets away with it simply by existing. 

Although this odd little insect is predatory, it is perfectly harmless to humans - it's rather alarming tail is just the dressing up of the males, ahem, reproductive addenda. It flits inconspicuously around hedgerows and shady places from late spring until - in the south - some time into the mild winter, munching mosquitoes and gnats and occasional small moths in its formidable jaws...