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Mantispid?
Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Back in June, we found this fascinating insect in our kitchen. He must have flown in and been attracted by the ventahood light. At first, I thought it was a wasp and was going to smash it (I’m allergic to wasps, so they get no quarter from me), but then I noticed that its front legs were distinctly mantis-like. So I called the boys to see the “funny-looking” mantis, and my son (a budding naturalist) said he thought it might be a “mantis-wasp” imitating a pepsis wasp. After an hour of searching through images of
wasps and mantids with no luck, I found the mantispid pictures on your site. I think we’ve properly identified him, but the naturalist wants confirmation.
Wendy (Mom), Caleb (the budding naturalist), and Isaac Anderson
Memphis, Tennessee

Mantidfly

Hi Wendy, Caleb and Isaac,
You are correct. This is a Mantidfly or Mantispid. Of all the genera and species posted to BugGuide, your specimen looks the most like Leptomantispa pulchella, but it doesn’t appear to be a perfect match.

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