Bark Mantispid

Description:

I found 2 female individuals of this Bark Mantispid in the same week! It is such an amazing little insect. She is 2 cm in length, with wings. Raptorial front legs have developed independently in several different orders, including Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera,Thysanoptera (Thrips) and in this case, the Neuroptera. Mantispids are basically Lace Wings with raptorial forelegs. This one seems to be more nocturnal, as I found them both active at night. It is also cryptically colored for camouflage on bark. The ovipositor is long and is usually held pointed upwards and curving forward. It is visible in all the pictures. They use their raptorial legs for climbing about, as well as for catching prey. They are very tame and gentle to hold. Family Mantispidae, Subfamily Symphrasinae.

Habitat:

Near lights, semi-rural residential area, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, 2,200 meters.

Notes:

Several species within the subfamily Symphrasinae have been reared from the nests of bees and wasps or in the laboratory on larvae or pupae of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera. First instars are active and find their hosts by attaching to an adult bee or wasp and moving into a cell when the egg is laid. Subsequently, they feed on a single host to which they adhere via a sticky, yellow secretion; they thus have the typical mantispid hypermetamorphosis (with several distinct larval types). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantispida... https://www.naturalista.mx/taxa/636099-S... For a fly with raptorial forelegs see: https://bugguide.net/node/view/176859/bg... and for a wasp see: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1009217/b.... For species of Plega see: https://bugguide.net/node/view/831703 http://madrean.org/symbfauna/taxa/index.... https://www.alexanderwild.com/Insects/In... https://bugguide.net/node/view/885447 https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=... https://bugguide.net/node/view/831687