Did you ever come across a creature that seemed to have the eyes of an insect, the beak of a bird and the tail of a scorpion? I did not know about their existence but they actually do exist: the scorpion flies. This one was noticed by coincidence, when attempting to pick a flower on a cycling trip.
Indeed at first glance it resembles a moth. Furthermore some general info I found: its official name is Panorpa communis, it’s a common insect in Europe and only the males have the distinct scorpion tail.
The first three photographs show its head (cropped image), the front body and its aft part with wings and tail. Objective 2,5x/0.08 with normal reflected light. (special thanks to Ikea).
Photo 4 shows the head at 4x with the Ultropak setup. Photo 5 shows the same but at 6,5x with a better resolution, this is a composed image.
Photo 6 shows the anatomy of the outer tail part, with something that looks like a sharp claw.
