#mantispid

the wasp-mimic mantisfly (Climaciella brunnea) is not only one of the coolest bugs out there but can also be surprisingly calm and friendly, at least if you charm it with the offering of a delicious blood-filled mosquito

Say's Mantidfly - Dicromantispa sayi

Here are the rest of the Mantispid/Mantidfly pictures from 2025. It was such a beautiful and unexpected find, and it would be incredible to find and observe more of them in the years to come. It would be especially nice to find other species which call North America home such as the larger Wasp-mimics. For one example, it would be a dream to find a Brown Wasp Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea) and photograph it, among others. While the larger Mantispids are typically conspicuous and brightly-colored, as they are advertising a false warning to would-be onlookers, they might also be as elusive as this Say's Mantidfly was. As such, we'll see what nature unveils in the future, but I'm certainly grateful that this insect landed on the screen door at the perfect time for capturing photos. In fairness, this individual may have simply been looking for a covered and dry area in preparation for impending rainfall, and there's plenty of that in an urban dwelling. After picking up this Mantidfly for a closer look, it was returned beneath a large-leafed plant in the backyard, to hopefully keep it out of the rain. While this branch of Lacewings (the suborder Hemerobiiformia) appear somewhat fearsome due to their large compound eyes and raptorial forelegs, my experience is that they are typically docile when gently introduced to a human hand. Smaller insect prey or encroachers meanwhile will be swiped at with the aforementioned forelegs or flung away with an over-the-shoulder claw toss.

On the subject of those robust forelegs, despite the resemblance to Mantid insects (Order Mantodea), Mantidflies are not closely related to any type of Mantis from a phylogenetic perspective. Rather, the forelegs and larger eyes that appear in Mantidflies evolved separately within Neuroptera (and certain varieties of predaceous Hemipterans) seemingly due to similar circumstances and selective pressures. Even their hunting strategies are similar, whereby Mantids and Mantispids will remain motionless and ambush prey. However, Mantidflies have also been reported to stalk nearby prey if necessary. Thanks to strong vision and careful movements of their antennae, Mantidflies can track if their insect prey is within visual range. If their prey moves farther away from a hungry Mantidfly rather than closer, it will slowly move forward to close the gap needed for a claw lunge. It will even paw out with its forelegs (they are only rarely used for walking) if it senses that a prey item might be out of detection range. It sounds like a lot of trouble to go through, but there's reason for such preparation: Mantidflies can only directly strike prey items which are directly in front of them. By contrast, the body of a Praying Mantis (for example) allows for an overall wider range of motion, as do its more robust forelegs, allowing it to effectively seize prey from more angles and orientations other than head-on.

These are what I was most excited to show you all! I found these at my blacklight setup when I was in Florida.

This is a mantidfly! They are not related to mantises at all, and are more closely related to lacewings. Convergent evolution caused them to have the same raptorial forearms that mantises do.

Unlike mantises, these guys go through metamorphosis. What’s more crazy is that their larvae are parasites of spider eggs! They crawl in the egg sac and eat the eggs, then they’ll pupate in the egg sac and emerge as an adult. Very interesting creatures!

Something special for #1500 - a freakin’ Lycid-mimicking Mantispid Lacewing!

Spotted by Karen Palmer in Brisbane - which extends the known range at least as far as the Atlas of Living Australia records go, too. The other recorded sightings there are from the wetter parts of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. 

Say's Mantidfly - Dicromantispa sayi

At long last! The blog's first Mantidfly! What a lucky find! But what is this strange insect perching upon the screen door?

Nature truly makes so many marvelous creations, and yet sometimes the results aren't what they seen. Case in point, today's find appears to be a combination of a Praying Mantis and a Yellowjacket, and yet it is neither. Not only that, it lacks the cold precision of a Praying Mantis and there is no stinger to be found. In fact, this particular insect is actually rather docile. When picking it up for a closer look, it began to clean its legs upon my hand. And when I tried to return the Mantidfly to the backyard's plants, it simply refused to leave my hands until several tries eventually convinced it otherwise. As for what this insect actually is, its docile disposition, its luminous eyes, and the shape of its wings may provide a clue as to the identity of this creature: it is a Neuropteran (of the family Mantispidae), making it closely related to the Lacewings which have graced the blog previously. As such, you could also call the insect by one of its other common names: either Mantis Lacewing or Mantispid. Interestingly, its antennae are far shorter and more robust than those of common Lacewings. However, it has some advantages over its distant relatives: its Wasp-like form offers it some mimicry against predators. Furthermore, true to its name it wields its own raptorial forearms to catch soft-bodied prey, and even fling away small hostile insects - such as Ants - from the plants they walk on.

Not only are adult Mantidflies carnivorous during the adulthood, but like their Lacewing counterparts, their larvae also hunger for protein and it seems that spider eggs straight from the egg sac are their primary source of food. Makes for quite a change from the more defenseless Aphids which Lacewing larvae tend to be more fond of. Adapt and survive, that's how these insects have found their success. There's quite a few Mantidfly species which call North America home as a result, but as such it made identifying this individual tricky. Especially since this individual doesn't match the more common Wasp mimics, and furthermore looks quite similar to Leptomantispa pulchella, another Ontario-based Mantisipid. To tell the two apart, pay close attention to the pronotum (the Mantidfly's neck), head and wings. For L. pulchella:

Its neck is smooth with small sensory hairs

There is usually a rectangular marking at the back of the head

The lacewing-like wing venation is less intricate (but that can be difficult to judge)

For this Mantidfly , its neck has ridging (as seen in Picture 1), the marking at the back of the head is clearly separated into three parts, and the venation appears to be quite dense; many veins supply the pairs of wings with vital hemolymph! Furthermore, there is another Dicromantispa specie to rule out: D. interrupta. Thankfully that's much easier to discern. The close relative has a more darkened region on the forewing known as a pterostigma (similar to many Odonates) and the margins of its forewing have prominent darkened veins. Get close to these seemingly hodge-podged insects and these observations will be yours to discover too! Handle with care however, as they are quite delicate despite the fearsome impression they make with their swinging raptorial claws.