The Brown Wasp Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea) is a convincing wasp mimic that sits on flower heads awaiting prey. The bottom left shows one eating a plume moth. The bottom right includes my thumb for scale. They are tiny and easy to miss.
#MantidflyAppreciationDay
Mantidflies sometimes show up at moth sheets and enjoy the insect smorgasbord. Top left is Beautiful Mantidfly (Leptomantispa pulchella) and bottom left is genus Plega.
#MantidflyAppreciationDay
Photo collage of four mantidfly species sitting on leaves and flowers.
Mantidflies are amazing little predatory insects. Here we have four species common in the US: Brown Wasp Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea), Green Mantidfly (Zeugomantispa minuta), Say's Mantidfly (Dicromantispa sayi), and Four-spotted Mantidfly (Dicromantispa interrupta).
#MantidflyAppreciationDay
