Mantispa styriaca
species of insect
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.
Description
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.
Biology
The 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.
“Mantispa styriaca” enters the record as species of insect. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Mantispa, styriaca and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Mantispa styriaca” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Mantispa, styriaca and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1656577. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mantispa styriaca” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.