Family Mantispidae - Mantid Lacewings

Mantidflies, Mantisflies, Mantid Lacewings, Mantis Lacewings

Nearctic members of Mantispinae used to be treated in Mantispa (restricted to the Old World, as currently defined)(1)

Mantispidae Leach, 1815

11 spp. in 7 genera in our area; 4 spp. in 3 genera in Canada(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), ~400 spp. in 44 genera worldwide(5)

In our area:

Symphrasinae

Calomantispinae

Mantispinae(1)

20-35 mm

Like lacewings, but with raptorial, mantid-like forelegs; one species is a wasp mimic.

Keys to subfamilies and genera in(6)(1)

Family characteristics(3):

Worldwide (mostly tropical) & across NA, more diverse in the south

Predatory: Adults eat small insects, caught with their raptorial forelegs. Larvae in the subfamily Mantispinae are restricted to feeding on eggs within egg sacs of spiders. Larvae in the other more primitive subfamilies (i.e. our genera Plega and Nolima) have been reared on immatures of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera, spider eggs and paralyzed spiders removed from sphecid cells.

Stalked eggs typically laid in large numbers.

Larvae undergo hypermetamorphosis. In subfamily Mantispinae, 1st instar larvae either seek out and penetrate spider egg sac directly, or board spiders and wait for the opportunity to enter egg sacs as they are spun. In the other subfamilies, larvae are more generalist predators of other insects, especially terrestrial larvae of scarab beetles, noctuid moths, and certain wasps.