''Mantispa styriaca'', the Styrian praying lacewing, is a species of predatory

mantidfly 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 ...

native to Europe. It is a yellow-brown insect as an adult and has multiple larval stages.

Description

The adult Styrian praying lacewing is a yellow-brown color with transparent wings that have a wingspan of . The species can be found in southern and central Europe. Its forelegs are similar to those of the

praying mantis 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 hav ...

, with the ability to seize living prey.

Biology

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 The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

fishing spider ''Dolomedes'' is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. Almost all ''Dolomedes'' species are semiaquatic, with the exception of the tree-dwell ...

, of the genera ''

Lycosa ''Lycosa'' is a genus of wolf spiders distributed throughout most of the world. Sometimes called the "true tarantula", though not closely related to the spiders most commonly called tarantulas today, ''Lycosa'' spp. can be distinguished from comm ...

'' and ''

Dolomedes ''Dolomedes'' is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. Almost all ''Dolomedes'' species are semiaquatic, with the exception of the tree-dwelling ...

'', 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

diplura The order Diplura ("two-pronged bristletails") is one of three orders of non-insect hexapods within the class Entognatha (alongside Collembola (springtails) and Protura). The name "diplura", or "two tails", refers to the characteristic pair of ...

n of genus ''

Campodea ''Campodea'' is a genus of small, white, bristle-tailed arthropods in the order Diplura. The best known species, ''Campodea staphylinus'', has a wide distribution across much of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considere ...

''. 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

pupate A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') 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 ...

s by spinning a cocoon inside the spider's egg sac, in which it stays up to 14 days before its final molting. Pupation happens in the middle of June. It is a nymph after emerging from the cocoon, not yet in its adult form. 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.

Friedrich Moritz Brauer Friedrich Moritz Brauer (12 May 1832, Vienna – 29 December 1904) was an Austrian entomologist who was Director of the Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum, Vienna, at the time of his death. He wrote many papers on Diptera and Neuroptera. From an ass ...

, an Austrian

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, discovered the first

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow o ...

on vegetation in 1852. It was not until 17 years later that he discovered the other instars within spider egg sacs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1656577 Insects described in 1761 Mantispoidea Taxa named by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus