This story was originally published in June 2023.
Some critters are so unique scientists have placed them in a family all their own. One of those not often seen in Maine is the brown mantidfly and it looks like it was made out of a bunch of leftover insect spare parts.
The brown mantidfly has a head similar to a praying mantis, an elongated body that looks like a paper wasp and front legs that resemble a scorpion.
“It’s really kind of a Frankenstein critter,” said Mike Parisio, entomologist with the Maine Forest Service. “And it’s not that common — I’ve only come across them infrequently.”
An accomplished hunter, it’s also part vampire — but only on other insects.
“They are predators,” said Charlene Donahue of the Maine Entomological Society. “The [adults] fly around a night and catch whatever else is flying around”
It’s the larval stage of the brown mantidfly that can seem a bit terrifying — especially to wolf spiders.
The technical term for the larvae’s strategy is “hyper metamorphic,” Donahue said. That means it actually has two larval forms. When the mantidfly first hatches it has well-developed legs and antennae and immediately goes on the hunt for a female wolf spider or, ideally, wolf spider eggs.
If it finds a female spider first, the larva will hitch a ride until the spider lays her eggs. Once she does, the larva hops into the egg sac. Then it forms a straw out of its own mouth parts and begins sucking the fluids out of the eggs. Eventually it forms a cocoon inside the egg sac where it will remain until it emerges as a juvenile mantidfly.
“There are a lot of these insects with really bizarre and fascinating life cycles and relationships with other insects,” Parisio said. “You’d be really lucky to see one of these.”
Despite looking like a wasp, the brown mantidfly does not have a stinger. Its long front arms have sharp, pointed ends but they are not strong enough to pierce human skin.
There is no reason to kill a brown mantidfly, according to Donahue.
“They only look scary because that is our perception of them,” she said. “They are not scary — what they are is cool.”
