General Description
Body brown. Front legs enlarged and bent. Transparent, thin wings held flat over the abdomen when at rest. Body up to 3 cm long.
Biology
Mantis Flies are not true flies; they are lace wings. Females lay several thousand eggs suspended on short stalks. Once the larvae hatch, they either attach themselves to a female spider and enter her egg sac as it is produced, or they search for egg sacs already laid. They mature into adults inside the spider egg sac and become predatory feeders when they emerge.
Distribution
Northern and eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Habitat
On plants and in leaf litter.
More Information
-
Animal Type
-
Animal SubType
-
Brief Id
Brown body, thin wings rest on top of abdomen.
-
Colours
Brown, Orange, Black
-
Habitats
-
Diet
Carnivore
-
Endemicity
-
Conservation Statuses
CITES: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
-
Taxon Name
-
Scientific Author
Esben-Petersen, 1917
-
Common Name
Mantis Fly
-
Kingdom
-
Phylum
-
Subphylum
-
Class
-
Order
-
Family
-
Genus