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1 Description & Statistics
Adult mantispids or "mantidflies" have large raptorial
forelegs, similar to those of Mantidae, which are for capturing other
insects. The larvae are predaceous in
the egg sacs of spiders (Mantispa
& Climaciella) or on larvae of
bees and wasps (Plega). Brauer (1869b) gave the first and most
complete account of one of these species, Mantispa
styriaca Poda, that develops in the
egg sacs of Lycosidae and related spiders.
Bristowe (1932) supplemented this account. The eggs are stalked like those of Chrysopidae and are laid in
autumn in clusters on tree bark, etc., seemingly without relation to the
host. Hatching occurs ca. 3 weeks
later, and young larvae hibernate without feeding. The following spring or early summer, when the spider egg
masses have been laid, they search them out, tearing a hole in the covering
to enter. They then wait until the
spider eggs hatch, after which they feed rapidly and extensively. There is a molt immediately after
hatching, and a second one (the last) after some feeding. The 3rd instar scarabaeiform larvae differ
from the active campodeiform 2nd instar (see Clausen 1940 for diagram).. Its head is small, abdomen very large and
the legs are rudimentary. it is not
able to move in an orderly fashion.
The larva completes feeding and spins its yellow oblong cocoon in
which the pupa is formed within the unbroken larval skin. After a while the pupa forces its way out
of the old larval skin, cocoon, and the host egg sac, wanders about for a
while and eventually casts its skin to release the adult. Observations were made on several species of mantispa by Smith (1934).
One female of M. sayi Banks laid 2,200 eggs, in 6
batches, during ca. one month. These
were placed in dense clusters and hatched in 9-11 days. The young larvae were very active but
could not be forced to enter spider egg sacs or to feed on eggs, and all died
in a short time. The females of M. brunnea
Say were found hiding in flowers, in this position they were able to capture
readily other insects that visited the flowers. These females were similar in form and color to Polistes. When confined in cages, they lived ca. 1 month and laid ca. 250
eggs each. The eggs are elongated
oval and salmon or cream colored.
They are borne on slender stalks ca. 1.5X as long as the egg itself. A single female of Climaciella
brunnea var. occidentalis Banks was found to lay 1,028 eggs in a single
cluster in one day (Hoffman 1936).
They were salmon-colored and each stood on an exceedingly slender
stalk which was lightly longer than the body of the egg. The incubation period took 28 days. Young larvae were able to stand erect by
the use of their caudal sucker. Some
of these larvae were kept alive for 4/5 months without food, suggesting an
overwintering habit similar to Mantispa. Kishida (1929) found as many as 8 larvae of Eumantispa harmandi
Nav. in cocoons of several spiders in Japan.
One of these spiders forms its egg sacs in curled leaves of various
grasses, while another burrows in the soil.
There were two larval instars, and the last was similar to that
described for M. styriaca. Brauer (1869b) recorded Symphrasis
varia Er. as parasitic in the nests
of a wasp in South America, the cocoon being spun in the cell. Clausen (1940) was not certain that this
observation was accurate, however. References: Please refer
to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional
references may be found at: MELVYL Library ] |