| Mantispa styriaca | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Neuroptera |
| Family: | Mantispidae |
| Subfamily: | Mantispinae |
| Genus: | Mantispa |
| Species: | M. styriaca |
| Binomial name | |
| Mantispa styriaca Poda, 1761 | |
Mantispa styriaca, the Styrian praying lacewing, is a species of predatory mantidfly native to Europe. It is a yellow-brown insect as an adult and has multiple larval stages.
The adult Styrian praying lacewing is a yellow-brown color with transparent wings that have a wingspan of 35 mm (1.4 in). The species can be found in southern and central Europe. Its forelegs are similar to those of the praying mantis, with the ability to seize living prey. [1]
Its larva emerges from reddish eggs after 21 days and then hibernates through the winter. In the spring, the larva searches for a female wolf or fishing spider, of the genera Lycosa and Dolomedes , in order to bore its way into the cocoon that the spider carries on its abdomen, by biting a slit open. It is carnivorous in its first stage, as shown by dead spiders being found around it. Before the larva molts, it resembles a dipluran of genus Campodea . After the larva's first molt, the species has short legs that it cannot use, a small head, has jaws that extend straight out, and has pointed antennae that extend beyond the jaws. Once the larva starts metamorphosis, it pupates by spinning a cocoon inside the spider's egg sac, in which it stays up to 14 days before its final molting. [2] Pupation happens in the middle of June. It is a nymph after emerging from the cocoon, not yet in its adult form. [1] [2] Once it enters the adult stage, the species hunt for prey by using fast strikes of their forelegs that can take less than 60 ms. Its hunting style is similar to that of the praying mantis. [3]
Friedrich Moritz Brauer, an Austrian entomologist, discovered the first instar on vegetation in 1852. It was not until 17 years later that he discovered the other instars within spider egg sacs. [4]
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages thereof being egg, larva, pupa, and imago. The processes of entering and completing the pupal stage are controlled by the insect's hormones, especially juvenile hormone, prothoracicotropic hormone, and ecdysone. The act of becoming a pupa is called pupation, and the act of emerging from the pupal case is called eclosion or emergence.
The Luna moth also known as the American moon moth is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly known as giant silk moths. It has lime-green colored wings and a white body. The larvae (caterpillars) are also green. Typically, it has a wingspan of roughly 114 mm (4.5 in), but can exceed 178 mm (7.0 in), making it one of the larger moths in North America. Across Canada, it has one generation per year, with the winged adults appearing in late May or early June, whereas farther south it will have two or even three generations per year, the first appearance as early as March in southern parts of the United States.
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The antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae, known for the fiercely predatory habits of their larvae, which in many species dig pits to trap passing ants or other prey. The adult insects are less well known, due to their relatively short lifespans compared to the larvae. Adults mostly fly at dusk or after dark, and may be mistakenly identified as dragonflies or damselflies; they are sometimes known as antlion lacewings. In North America, the larvae are sometimes referred to as doodlebugs because of the strange marks they leave in the sand.
Mantispidae, known commonly as mantidflies, mantispids, mantid lacewings, mantisflies or mantis-flies, is a family of small to moderate-sized insects in the order Neuroptera. There are many genera with around 400 species worldwide, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Only 5 species of Mantispa occur in Europe. As their names suggest, members of the group possess raptorial forelimbs similar to those of praying mantis, a case of convergent evolution.
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Hierodula membranacea is a large praying mantis, sharing its common name giant Asian mantis with other large members of genus Hierodula: of which it is the type species. Its colours vary from green to yellow-green, or even brown to reddish-brown, similar to those of the giant Indian mantis and the giant Malaysian mantis. As the name suggests, it originates from south-eastern Asia and is among the largest of mantises. Male and female adults reach around 7–9 centimetres (2.8–3.5 in), excluding extended forelegs. It is a cannibalistic species, with the females sometimes eating the males after mating.
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Amaurobius ferox, sometimes known as the black lace-weaver, is a common nocturnal spider belonging to the family Amaurobiidae and genus Amaurobius. Its genus includes the permanently social species A. socialis, and three subsocial species, A. fenestralis, A. similis and A. ferox, all three of which have highly developed subsocial organizations.
Anelosimus eximius is a species of social spider in the genus Anelosimus, native to the Lesser Antilles and the area from Panama to Argentina. Colonies can comprise several thousand individuals.
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.
Thomisus onustus is a crab spider belonging to the genus Thomisus. These spiders are found across Europe, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East and Asia. T. onustus reside in flowers in lowland vegetation. Females are distinguished by their larger size and ability to change color between white, yellow, and pink as a means of matching flower color. This cryptic mimicry allows them to both evade predators and enhance insect prey capture abilities. Males are smaller, more slender, and drab in coloration, usually green or brown. T. onustus is also distinguished from other relatives by its distinct life cycle patterns in which spiderlings emerge in either late summer or early spring. Furthermore, T. onustus have developed a mutualistic relationship with host plants where spiders feed on and/or deter harmful florivores while benefiting from the plant's supply of pollen and nectar, which T. onustus spiders are able to use as food sources, especially during periods of low insect prey abundance.
Ithome concolorella, the kiawe flower moth, is a species of moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It was first described by Vactor Tousey Chambers in 1875. It is found in the southern United States, including Texas, southern Arizona and Florida. It is an introduced species in Hawaii, where it has been recorded from Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Molokai.
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Gonatopus clavipes is a species of small wasp in the family Dryinidae. It is a solitary wasp that superficially resembles an ant, and its larva is a parasitoid of leafhoppers in the subfamily Deltocephalinae. It has a Palearctic distribution, and within Europe parasitises at least eleven genera and thirty-one species of leafhopper.
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