Scorpion Fly Antics

I was only alerted to the presence of this strange collection after it flew right into my face (I'm only glad I had my mouth closed) while I was out walking in the fields. I watched it fly erratically to some nearby tall grass where I was able to get some shots. At first I thought it might be some strange ménage à trois but after quite a bit of internet searching I was able to suss what was going on, here's what Wikipedia and The Wildlife Trust had to say..............................

The Scorpion Fly has a black and yellow body, a reddish head with a long beak, dark patches on the wings and a scorpion-like tail which does not sting (the male has two claspers at the end for mating).
It is a strange looking insect which is found in gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges, particularly amongst nettles and Bramble. It has a long beak-like projection from its head that is uses to feed, scavenging on dead insects and frequently stealing the contents of spider's webs. It lives up to its name by sporting a scorpion-like tail, which the male uses in courtship displays. Adults usually mate at night, but mating can be a dangerous game for the male, who might easily be killed by the female. So he presents her with a nuptial gift of a dead insect or a mass of saliva to placate her - the equivalent of a box of chocolates! Food items such as caterpillars, bugs, and flies are offered to be eaten during copulation. If the gift is rejected, the female flies away. If the gift is accepted, the genitalia of the male couples with that of the female, who lowers herself until she is hanging upside down. She consumes the offering during copulation. The male supports the female by holding her legs or the prey. Field observations show that both sexes mate several times per day. Small or unacceptable offerings result in no or a very short copulation time. Duration depends on the size of the gift. It has been observed that prey 3 to 14 mm long will provide 1 to 17 minutes of copulation and prey the size of houseflies is given in return for 20 to 29 minutes of copulation

............................ Well, fancy that!!!! ;-))))