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Unidentified mantisfly, Mantispinae, Neuroptera

Photographed in Indonesia by Nicky Bay // Website // Facebook

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

#animals #curators on tumblr #insects #bugs #neuroptera #mantisfly #mantidfly #mantispinae #one nice bug #mantispidae

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

(Massachusetts, 7/3/23)

#neuroptera #mantispidae #mantisfly #bugs #bugblr #insects #mantispid #entomology #biology #brown mantisfly #climaciella brunnea

Hello! I wanted to share a neat bug I found recently—pretty sure it’s a brown wasp mantidfly—that was in the parking lot at work. I used the piece of mulch to move it to a grassy area so hopefully it’s doing okay :)

(The pictures were taken on May 30th in North Texas btw)

Mantisfly ID - NO TX, USA:

Henlo, yesss, this looks like the or Western or Wasp Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea), family Mantispidae, order Neuroptera.

Species Climaciella brunnea - Brown Wasp Mantidfly - BugGuide.Net

#mantisfly #mantidfly #neuroptera #id #mantispidae #insect #entomology #climaciella #animals #nature #north america

I found an insect last week I’ve wanted to see for as long as I’ve known they existed: a mantisfly! this one is Zeugomantispa minuta, the only species commonly observed where I live.

mantisflies (family Mantispidae) are named for their resemblance to mantises (order Mantodea) but themselves belong to the order Neuroptera, being related to lacewings and antlions. as adults, they closely resemble mantises, and live a similar lifestyle capturing prey with raptorial forelegs.

compared to this Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), there are a few anatomical differences you might notice, but the biggest difference between the two is definitely their reproductive strategy.

mantises lay egg cases and develop from nymphs that resemble adults. being neuropterans, mantispid juvenile are larvae. but mantispid larvae, unlike their lacewing and antlion relatives, aren’t predators, they’re parasites! Zeugomantispa follow the strategy of starting as a leggy, highly active larva that on hatching immediately seeks out a spider egg sac to burrow into, growing into a plump grub quite different from its original appearance after feeding on the eggs. other mantispid larvae attach themselves to the adult spiders, and wait for their host to produce a sac; still others parasitize beetle or wasp larvae.

An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information.

here’s a great photo of a mass of Z. minuta eggs hatching into their sac-seeking first instars!

#bugs #mantisfly #mantis #Neuroptera #insect

I want you to know that if I had came across a picture of a mantidfly in the wilds of the internet, I truly would have thought that it was AI generated.

But I know you wouldn't share anything like that without stressing that it's fake, so instead I got to learn about something new today!

God I love our weird nature

To be fair, they do look like a hybrid OC with a tragic backstory about being made in a lab. In a cute way.

Even though it looks like they evolved to mimic praying mantises, it seems like they might actually be older, with the oldest Mantispidae fossils dating to the Jurassic, while the oldest Mantodea fossils found date to the Cretaceous.

Additionally, taxonomists aren't really sure where to place a few groups of mantidflies! A problematica fave, if you will.

#bug #mantisfly